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PROCEEDINGS 



THE CELEBRATION OF THE TWO HUNDREDTH 
ANNIVERSARY 



Jfirst ^mslj at S>nitm l^tliitgc, 



NOW DANVERS, 



OCTOBER 8, 1872; 



WITH AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS 



CHARLES B. RICE, 



WINlbTEK Ui' THE PARISH. 



BOSTON : 

CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 

CONGREGATIONAL HOUSE, 

BEACON STREET. 
1874. 



^ /'/^ 



o 



0/ 



C. J. PETERS & SON, 

ELECTROTVPERS AND STEREOTYPERS, 

JT, FEDERAL STREET, P.OSTON. 



PREFACE. 



There has been an unavoidable delay in the preparation of 
these materials for the press. Since the day of the celebra- 
tion, the Historical Address has been much enlarged ; and it 
has been revised repeatedly with very great care. The work 
having been once reluctantly undertaken, I was unwilling to 
leave it until it had been done, if not in fulness, yet with 
somewhat of thoroughness, so far as it might reach. How 
much of time is required for such a purpose, and with results 
so little to be noticed by an ordinary reader, they only who 
have been engaged in a like employment can understand. 
There have been with me, also, frequent calls to other work, 
besides the ample occupations of the pastoral office. 

While I have read whatever might be found in print, touch- 
ing upon our local history, I have very seldom depended upon 
any such authority, having found it altogether unsafe to do so. 
The " History of the Town of Danvers," prepared and pub- 
lished in 1848, by Rev. J. W. Hanson, while containing much 
interesting matter, is not reliable wherever exactness and cer- 
tainty are required. 

The work of Mr. Upham is a different affair. And from 
him almost alone, having had frequent occasion to test his ac- 
curacy, I have in some instances adopted statements of fact, 
without making original examination. 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

That the narration, as now printed, should be wholly free 
from errors, would be too much to expect. It has also many- 
deficiencies in the way of omission, which it has not been 
possible to supply, with the time at my command. 

I have received valuable assistance from Hon. Charles W. 
Upham and Wm. P. Upham, Esq., of Salem ; from Dr. Henry 
Wheatland, President of the Essex Institute ; from Deacon 
Samuel P. Fowler, and Andrew Nichols, Esq. ; and also from 
very many members of this society. Acknowledgment for 
materials furnished by some of these persons will be found in 
due place. Special mention ought to be made of Mr. Moses 
Prince of this village, to whose most remarkable memory con- 
cerning all things local and personal I have had resort con- 
tinually. That portion of the history covering the last one 
hundred years has also been read to a considerable number of 
elderly persons in the parish, with others having particular in- 
terest in the matters treated, who have met together several 
times for this purpose, and who have thus given to the record 
the benefit of their suggestions. 

I have not entered upon the details of the period interven- 
ing between the first settlement of the town and the organi- 
zation of the parish. Mr. Upham has enlarged upon it with 
fulness, in his " History of Witchcraft, arid Salem Village," 
already referred to ; and it would have been a waste of labor 
to have reviewed it. A similar remark may be made respect- 
ing the witchcraft delusion itself. I have done no more than 
was necessary to carry the history of the parish fairly past that 
point. In the references made to that topic, I have by no 
means followed Mr. Upham blindly. I have become ac- 
quainted with nearly every thing that has been written upon 
it with any originality or authority, and have of course ob- 



PREFACE. 5 

served the points that are held in dispute. It is proper to say 
that my judgment is in agreement, generally, with the views 
advanced by Mr. Upham ; and that his narrative appears to 
me to be, in the main, eminently fair and trustworthy. 

This is not a history of the town, but of the parish ; and it 
has been held with some steadiness and unity to that aim. 
At the same time, the relations of town and parish, though 
peculiar in this instance, were exceedingly close ; and their his- 
tory for a long period is almost identical. The parish terri- 
tory corresponded, also, nearly to that of the town as now 
constituted. It was therefore natural, and it seemed suitable, 
in dealing with the more modern periods, to give some ac- 
count of the general progress and condition of the town, and 
also of the other religious societies that have sprung up upon 
the same territory. For this reason, and as a record in large 
part of that period during which the whole population of 
Danvers was united in one parish, this publication may have 
an interest for all our citizens. 

The statistics of other societies have been furnished, in 
most cases, by persons having official connection with them ; 
and in every matter of doubt they have been subjected to 
careful revision. 

The form of the original address has been preserved in 
many parts, with the changes and additions that have since 
been made ; and references appropriate to the day of the 
commemoration have been retained. 

The book is to be stereotyped. The additional expense 
involved has been generously provided for by Deacon Samuel 
Preston, whose name is thus fittingly connected' with a publi- 



6 PREFA CE. 

cation in which he has taken, from the first, a Hvely interest. 
The plates, by his direction, will become the property of the 
church. They will be left in the keeping of the Congrega- 
tional Publishing Society at Boston. New copies may thus 
be readily produced, if they shall be needed ; or, in distant 
future times, the history may be reprinted, with the added 
record of other centuries. 

That the sketch now published, by the instruction and the 
encouragements it brings from the past, may be of service to 
this church, in promoting its peace and stability and strength, 
and may help to make more fair that record of the coming 
times, and that it may thus also contribute in its measure to 
the enlargement and beauty of the kingdom of God in the 
world, is the earnest wish of its author, as it has been his 
chief motive and hope in the labor of its preparation. 

C. B. R. 



BI-CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST 
PARISH IN DANVERS. 



Pursuant to public notice given on the preceding sabbath, 
the first meeting of persons interested in observing the two 
hundredth anniversary of the commencement of preaching in 
this place was held in the vestry on Wednesday evening, Feb. 
14, 1872. 

George Tapley was chosen chairman, and Edward Hutchin- 
son secretary. 

The object of the meeting was stated by Augustus Mudge, 
who also read some extracts from the early records of the 
society. After some discussion, and interchange of opinion, 
it was determined to appoint a general committee, to have 
charge of the proposed commemoration ; and the following 
persons were constituted this committee : — 

Samuel Preston, Dean Kimball, Jasper Pope, 

Gilbert Tapley, Geo. Tapley, E. G. Hyde, 

W. R. Putnam, Chas. P. Preston, W. B. Woodiman, 

Elijah Hutchinson, Reuben Wilkins, G. B. Martin, 

Chas. B. Rice, Edward Hutchinson, Francis Dodge, 

Augustus Mudge, Elias Needham, Nath'l Pope. 

Moses Prince, S. B. Swan, 

Other meetings were afterwards held, at which the order of 
proceeding was fully considered ; and sub-committees were 
appointed as follows : — 



8 PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS. 

On the Memorial Address, Speaking, and Order of Exer- 
cises. 
Samuel Preston, Augustus Mudge, 

Wm. R. Putnam, Chas. P. Preston, 

Edward Hutchinson. 

On Invitation^. 

Chas. B. Rice, Amos Pratt, 

Edwin Mudge, Gilbert Tapley, 

S. B. Swan, Chas. Lawrence, 

, George Tapley. 

On Collecting Information. 

Moses Prince, Wm. R. Putnam, 

Elijah Hutchinson, Reuben Wilkins, 

Nathanael Pope. 

On Mnsie. 

E. P. Davis, Joshua Prentiss, 

George Tapley, Frank K. Davis, 

George Wood, John Swinerton, 

Edward Hutchinson. 

On Entertainment. 
Edwin Mudge, S. A. Tucker, 

Alfred Hutchinson, Rufus Hart, 
E. G. Hyde, S. B. Swan, 

W. B. Woodman, Amos Pratt. 

On Decorations. 
D. Herbert Colcord, Walter Nourse, 

Chas. Tapley, George Pratt, 

W. W. Eaton, Albert H. Mudge, 

Geo. W. French, Jun., Jasper Pope, Jun., 

Moses P. Kimball, E. A. H. Grover. 



PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS. 9 

On Finance. 

Geo. B. Martin, Geo. W. French, 

G. A. Tapley, Jasper Pope, 

Edwin Mudge, Adrian Putnam, 

Francis Dodge, Chas. P. Preston, 

Dean Kimball, S. B. Swan, 

Geo. H. Peacody, 

On Printing. 
Augustus Mudge, Wm. R. Putnam, 

George Tapley. 

An effort was made, but without succes.?, to engage Rev. 
Dr. Braman, late pastor of the church, to prepare the memo- 
rial address. 

The w'ork of preparation was carried on with great vigor and 
thoroughness by these various committees, who were also as- 
sisted by the ladies of the parish at all points where their help 
could be needed. 

The appearance of the meeting-house within, upon the day 
of the observance, is thus described in " The Boston Journal " 
of the next morning. 

" The church was most beautifully decorated with bouquets of flowers, 
de.icate trailing vines, and festoons of evergreen and forest leaves. The 
pulpit was fringed with smilax, which drooped in graceful cables in front. 
On either side there was a profusion of choice plants, and bright clusters 
of flowers. On the table in front a beautifully arranged bouc_iuet of flowers 
rose from a l)ed of smilax ; and beside it stood on either side a white cross 
covered with trailing evergreen. The gallery was trimmed with evergreen 
cables gracefully looped beneath the names of pastors of the church, which 
were encircled with evergreen, and separated by forest leaves tastefully ar- 
ranged. The following mottoes were also displayed in evergreen letters on 
the balcony fronts : ' Thy law is love ; ' ' God is our Refuge ; ' and opposite 
the pulpit, ' 1672 — Praise ye the Lord — 1872.' The windows were orna- 



lO PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS. 

merited by baskets of choice flowers suspended by evergreen cables and 
loops of evergreen, fastened with rosettes of forest leaves. As a signifi- 
cant portion of tlie ornamentation of the room, two century plants, one on 
either side of the pulpit, reminded the audience of the commemoration." 

The clay without was stormy and unpropitious. The severe 
rain of the morning did not, however, prevent the gathering of 
an audience respectable in its number, and notable in its char- 
acter. Many persons were present from abroad, former resi- 
dents of Danvers, and once belonging to the parish, or their 
descendants, with prominent citizens from various parts of 
the county and with members also of the other religious 
societies of our own town. 

The services were opened by music from the organ, with 
an anthem by the choir, under the direction of Mr. E. P. 
Davis. Very appropriate selections of scripture were read, 
and prayer was offered, by Rev. James Brand, pastor of the 
Maple-street Church ; and an original hymn,, written hy Miss 
Mary S. Patterson, was sung by the clioir. Next followed the 
historical address by the pastor of the church, as it is given 
below, with enlargements since made. 



HISTORY OF THE FIRST PARISH, 



BY CHARLES B. RICE. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



I COULD have wished that the preparation of this sketch 
might have fallen into other hands. There are those, the 
natives of this or the neighboring soil, and long residents upon 
it, whose tastes or occupations have caused them to be well 
acquainted with the history of this village from the first. The 
little of such local knowledge which I have gained has been 
bought with a great sum of labor, while they were wise-born. 
If to any of these persons the narration which I have to make 
may seem to be barren and imperfect, I shall not profess to 
be, on their account alone, very much grieved ; since the 
endurance of it to-day is an infliction to which they, not hav- 
ing themselves undertaken the work, may appear to be justly 
subjected. It should, however, be observed that the earlier 
portion of this history has already been treated in a thorough 
and satisfactory manner by Mr. Upham in his " History of 
Witchcraft, and Salem Village ; " so that there is less occasion 
now to dwell upon it. And for nearly the whole of the two 
hundred years from the commencement of preaching in this 
place, there are in existence the ample records of the parish 
and the church. These I have read throughout with care ; 
and as very few others, if any, have ever done this, or are 
likely to do it, I have thought it might not be a thing wholly 
without interest to bring out the main facts from this mass of 
material into a form for more easy and popular use. But 
information has also been diligently sought from all other 
available sources. 

I have been able to do less in the way of giving detailed 
accounts of individuals and families prominently connected 



H 



HISTORY OF 



with this rehgioiis society in former times, than might have 
been wished. It is in this matter especially, of personal and 
family history, that I have missed the knowledge which comes 
with residence among a people from early life. The materials, 
withal, for much of this history are now difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to be had ; and, in any case, to gather them up would be 
a work requiring far more than the limited time that has been 
at my disposal. The lack, therefore, of such details in this 
recital is unavoidable, however it is to be regretted. 



The territory of Danvers was originally a part of Salem. 
There were settlers upon it as early as 1632 or 1633 ; though 
that portion of it included within the limits of the " village," 
to be shortly defined, was not probably entered upon until 
two or three years later. At that time, or about 1635, there 
began to appear a purpose to plant a settlement in a some- 
what formal manner in this neighborhood. It was to be 
styled a village ; although that term, according to present 
usage, would have been more appropriately applied to the 
central establishment at Salem itself. 

The houses were widely scattered ; and there was not for 
a long time, nor indeed scarcely until within the memory of 
those now living, any considerable collection of them any- 
where upon this territory. The district was also more popu- 
larly and fittingly known in early times as " The Farms ; " and 
the inhabitants were called distinctively " The Farmers." 
They used this" title also with respect to themselves ; and in 
the records of their first assemblies the form is : " At a meet- 
ing of the Farmers." 

As population increased, the inconvenience of the connec- 
tion with Salem began to be seriously felt. They were far 
from the place of meeting, both for the transaction of business 
and for public worship. They accordingly began to move for 
a separate parochial organization. A petition to this end was 
presented in 1670. The town of Salem gave a conditional 
assent in March, 1672; and the General Court granted the 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 15 

requisite authority, Oct. 8 of the same year. This is 
the event wc to-day commemorate. As this date is given in 
the old style, the time was really Oct. i 8 ; and, if it had 
occurred to us seasonably, that might have been the better 
day for our observance. Exact people can have liberty to 
mark the occasion on Friday of next week, and well toward 
the morning of Saturday. (See Appendix A, p. 231). 

The following is a copy of the order of the legislature, which 
was really an act of incorporation, as it appears in the records 
of the parish : — 

" At a _c;enerall court lield at Boston 8th of October 1672. — In answer 
to the Petition of the farmers of Salem Richard Hutchinson Thomas 
Fuller &c the Court judi;cth it meet that all persons living within the 
tract of land mentioned in the town's grant of land to the Petitioners 
together with all lands and Estates lying within the said bounds shall 
Contribute to all Charges referring to the maintainance of a minister and 
erecting a meeting house there and that they shall have liberty to nomi- 
nate and appoint persons among themselves or town of Salem not exceed- 
ing the Number of Five who are hereby impowered from time to time 
for the making and gathering of all rates and levies For the ends above 
expressed — and that in case of refusall or non-payment of tlic same by 
any person or persons amongst them that then the Constables of Salem 
shall and hereby are empowered to make distress upon the goods of any 
that shall so neglect or refuse to afford their help in that use. And the 
same to deliver to the persons aforesaid to be improved accordingly and 
that when a minister sliall l:)c settled amongst them they shall be freed 
from Contributing to the minister's of Salem — That this is a true Coppy 
taken out of the Court records attests Edward Rawson Secretary." 



For the boundaries of the tract thus set off, a starting-point 
was taken at "the Wooden Bridge" over" Cow-House River," 
known afterward as Endicott, and now as Water's River. 
This bridge was undoubtedly where the present road crosses 
the small stream iiear the brick school-house by Felton's Cor- 
ner, Peabody. Thence the line ran west, a few degrees south, 
passing through the middle of the pond near the present vil- 
lage of Brookdale, to the Lynnfield border. Setting out again 
from the " Wooden Bridge " toward the north, the boundary 
followed what has been known as the " old Ipswich road," 



l6 . HISTORY OF 

crossing Crane River below the cemetery, and entering along 
Ash Street upon the ground of the modern village at the 
Plain, and continuing across Frost-fish Brook, on the line of 
the road, to the " Horse Bridge," so called, at Bass River, in 
North Beverly, just beyond Cherry Hill and the residence of 
Richard P. Waters. From this point the boundary bore to 
the north-west until it reached the Wenham line ; then turned 
westerly on that line to the present boundary between Danvers 
and Wenham, which it followed to the Topsfield border ; and 
thence, turning to the south-west, it kept near by the present 
line to the Ipswich River, holding the same general direction 
over the river and across a considerable bend of the stream 
until it passed it again at a point not far from the north-western 
corner of Peabody, and thence following the Peabody line on 
the border of Lynnfield until it met the line first laid down, 
reaching westward from the place of beginning. 

Besides this, there was added on the north-western margin 
a large, four-sided tract, now included in Middleton, and 
embracing about half of that town. This enlargement 
covered what was known as " Bellingham's Grant," and was 
added at the petition of its owners, and notably of Bray Wil- 
kins, who wished for many public reasons, and especially 
for his love to the Salem church, to be within the limits of 
Salem. 

It will thus be seen, that, besides this part of Middleton, the 
village embraced in the south-west a large section of Peabody, 
and on the north-east a considerable portion of Beverly ; * 
while it did not include in the south-east and south the Endi- 
cott farm, or any part of the territory now known as Danvers 
Port, formerly " New Mills," and still earlier " Skclton's Neck." 
These still remained with Salem. And they had for a long 

* That is, so much of Beverly as lies upon the north of the above-described 
"old Ipswich road." For a long period the town of Beverly embraced a much 
larger portion of this original village ; since the border between the town and 
Danvers was farther to the westward, upon " Frost-fish Brook." The present 
boundary — by which what is now known as " East Danvers " was detached from 
Beverly, and annexed to Danvers — was established in 1S57. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



17 



period no parochial relation with us ; saving, indeed, that the 
people living ujDon these lands might often, and did, enter into 
some voluntary and informal connection with " the Farmers." 

There was also a disputed territory on the border of Tops- 
field, which, no doubt, fairly belonged to our fathers of this 
village, but which they were never able finally to get, though 
they fought stoutly for it. 



This territory was thus set off from Salem for parish pur- 
poses only, being still in all other respects a part of the original 
town. But parish purposes in those days were broad, and 
somewhat ill-defined. Besides, therefore, what pertained to 
the support of preaching, the villagers had a care, at times, for 
schools, and to some extent for roads ; and later for the rais- 
ing of men and money in time of war ; and, in fact, for nearly 
every local interest that might arise : so that the organization 
was, in part, municipal as well as parochial ; and the parish 
went near to be a town, and was sometimes called by that 
name.* 

It was understood that no church was to be formed at first 
in the new district. . 

The church at Salem appears to have been unwilling to 
part at once with such a considerable number of its members ; 
and it had, perhaps, some distrust of what they might do if 
allowed to set up wholly for themselves. There being thus 
no church, it occurred, almost of necessity, that the distinction 
generally made at that time between church-members and 
others, as to voting, was not followed in this instance ; and all 
householders were allowed a share in the management of parish 
affairs. The arrangement in this particular, as the matter then 

* By the general usage of that time throughout the State, the town and parish 
were territorially the same : parochial business was clone in town-meeting, the 
parish being a kind of adjunct or incident to the town. These conditions 
in this case, by the territorial separation of the village as a parish, were in a man- 
ner reversed : so that there was here a parish with certain incidental functions 
as a town. 



i8 HISTORY OF 

Stood, was liberal and just ; but the practical working of it was 
nevertheless, in this case, not most advantageous : though 
the misfortune should be attributed not to the enlargement of 
the franchise, but to the want of a church itself, which should 
have been planted at first with its appropriate organization 
and appointments. The ecclesiastical system of those times, 
withal, though full of the seeds of our present liberty, was only 
half Congregational, and abounded in inconsistencies and 
imperfections. The State, or the associated body of churches 
and ministers, held too great a control within it. 



The first meeting of the Farmers was held on the nth 
of November.* Lieut. Thomas Putnam, Thomas Fuller, 
Sen., Joseph Porter, Thomas Flint, and Joshua Rea were 
chosen a committee " to carry along the affairs according to 
the court order." They instructed the committee to lay taxes 
on this basis : " All vacant land at one halfpenny per acre ; 
all improved land at one penny per acre ; all heads and other 
estate at country price." This " country price " was probably 
a rate established in the Colony. It was also voted to make a 
rate of forty pounds that year for Mr. Bayley. 

Mr. Bayley had been in the village perhaps some few 
months at the date of the organization. By this vote he 
became not the settled pastor of the people, but what we might 
now call a " stated supply." 

At a meeting held on the " 26th of the loth month," that 
is, in December, 1672, it was voted to build a meeting-house 
"of 34 foot in length, 28 foot broad, and 16 foot between 
joints ; " and Nathanael Putnam, Henry Kenny, Joseph 
Hutchinson, and Joseph Putnam were joined with the gen- 



* The dates will be given in old style, as upon the records. To bring them 
to the present reckoning, add, as usual, ten days for the seventeenth century, and 
eleven days for the eighteenth, until 1752. 

For the convenience of the reader, however, the number of the year, in the 
months from January to March, will be given according to the present custom, 
by which the year begins with Jan. i. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 19 

cral committee before chosen, for a building committee. It 
was agreed that a rate or tax should be made, to pay for the 
work. And a little later in March, the record runs that " at 
a meeting of the farmers it was voted that the fifth part of 
the rate for building the meeting-house and finishing the same 
shall be paid in money, or butter at five-pence a pound or 
wheat at money price, and the rest of the pay in such pay as 
shall carry it along. This money and butter and wheat is to 
provide nails and " [glass probably : the word is partly gone 
from the page] " for the meeting-house." " Money and butter 
and wheat " were things choice ; and with these they could 
buy the two articles of building material which alone in the 
plainness of those times they were not able to furnish them- 
selves. 

This meeting-house was built according to vote ; though it 
was not altogether completed for a considerable time. Thus 
in 1684 it was voted that the meeting-house " shall be filled 
and daubed at where it wants below the beams and plates. 
And that six casements shall be Hanged in the meeting- 
house, and that there be a canope set over the pulpit." And 
a little later galleries were added. 




, i " ^cssjr^^g,..^. . _ - 



'>;:'^'*^^ 



THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE. 



20 HISTORY OF 

The wood-cut herewith given affords, it is believed, a good 
representation of this first meeting-house.* These " case- 
ments " were probably glass windows, made to swing out- 
wards in opening. No glass therefore, it is likely, had been 
bought before ; but though such votes with the Farmers were 
not always effective, there is reason to think that these six 
casements did then in fact " be Hanged." Aside from these, 
the openings at the windows were closed, if at all, by swinging 
or sliding shutters of wood. 

The house stood upon the flat, north-east of the present 
site, upon the north side of Hobart Street, — which is the old 
meeting-house road, — and between the houses now occupied 
by John Hook, sen., and Hiram Hook. Joseph Hutchinson, 
who lived near and owned all that meadow, gave an acre of 
ground about the meeting-house, to the " Inhabitants of the 
Farms," " for the Meeting-House and ministry amongst them." 

Liberty was given to any that pleased to put up " a house 
for their horses," ..." on that side of the meeting-house 
next the swamp," that is, at the rear towards the north-east. 
Provision was made in these houses, or sheds, for the horse 
only, with no respect to carriages, of which there were 
none. 

For his second year's salary Mr. Bayley had forty-seven 
pounds. He was to find his own fire-wood ; or he might, if 
he preferred, give up the extra seven pounds, and have his 
wood furnished by the parish committee. It appears from his 
receipts that he chose to do sometimes one, sometimes the 
other. The records fufther show that from thirty to thirty- 
six cords of wood was reckoned a supply for the minister's 
yearly use. If the value of butter at five-pence to the pound 
may be taken as a basis for comparison, it will appear that Mr. 

* The engraving for this meeting-house, and for the three ne.xt in order, was 
done chiefly from drawings made under the direction of Moses Prince. Some 
changes in the details have since been made. Pictures of other churches of the 
same age, which certain of these are known to have resembled, have also been 
made use of. Great care has been taken, both by Mr. Prince and by me, to se- 
cure the trutMulness of these representations. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 21 

Bayley's salary of forty pounds was equal in purchasing power 
to about $675 at the present time. Or, if the comparison 
were made with wood, then sold at five cords for a pound, the 
salary would equal $2,000, 



In this second year of the organization of the parish, 1673, 
it was voted to build " an house for the minister : " the dimen- 
sions to be " 28 foot in length, 13 foot between joynts and 20 
foot in breadth, and a leentoo of 1 1 foot at the end of the 
house." But this does not appear to have been carried into 
effect; for seven years later, in February, 1680 (1681 N. S.), 
we find the vote renewed : " the Dementions of the House 
are as followeth : 42 foot long, twenty foot Broad : thirteen 
foot stude, fouer chimleis, no gable ends." This time "a 
Ratte " was made to meet the expense, to the amount of two 
hundred and twenty-one pounds, nine shillings, and sixpence. 
Accordingly on " the 26th of Genewary" in the following year, 
the work appears to have been well under way ; and in Feb- 
ruary of 1683 (1684) the house was so far done as to stand in 
need of being " Repaired." 

This house stood some fifty rods to the north-west of the 
present parsonage, and a little less than twenty rods from the 
course of what is now Centre Street, on the north-eastern side, 
to the rear of the houses of John Roberts and Henry Prentiss, 
upon land now owned by E. & A. Mudge & Co. A lane 
just above the house of John Roberts leads in towards the 
site. 

It was upon the south-western border of a lot of land con- 
taining about five acres, which Joseph Houlton had given, in 
1 68 1, to the inhabitants of Salem Village, "for the use of the 
ministry." 

The record for these years is fragmentary and very imper- 
fect ; partly because four pages are missing from the book, and 
partly because some votes were purposely expunged. That 
which we now have is not, in fact, the original record at all, 
until about the year 1687. It is a new book transcribed from 



22 HISTORY OF 

an older one, and with certain omissions, made by direct 
order of the parish, and for reasons which are soon to be con- 
sidered. Among the votes thus omitted were some that were 
passed during tlie ministry of Mr. Bayley, with respect to the 
building of a parsonage. 

The delay in this matter of a parsonage was an occasion of 
annoyance and expense to Mr. Bayley ; and of disputes be- 
tween him and the parish, to which further reference will be 
made. 

Of Mr. Bayley, and, indeed, of either of these village ministers 
for the first twenty-five years, I can add little of importance 
beyond what Mr. Upham has gathered up. Mr. Bayley was a 
native of Newbury, a graduate of Harvard, and twenty-two 
years of age at the formation of the parish. His ministry was 
not a peaceful one. The people do not appear to have been 
united upon him from the first. Something, too, in the 
manner of his engagement gave offence. There were family 
jealousies and dissensions of such a sort as would have been 
likely to have stood in the way of any very cordial agreement 
upon a minister. And he himself was young, without experi- 
ence, and without any special fitness for a position requiring 
judgment and tact. Troubles continued or sprang up year 
by year. They came to such a height as to need to be brought 
before the parent church at Salem, and at? last before the 
General Court of the Colony. But this was to little purpose ; 
and, no prospect of harmony appearing, Mr. Bayley's ministry 
was closed, probably near the end of the year 1679. I^ is not 
certain whether he could have remained any longer if he had 
chosen. It is pretty clear that it would have been better if he 
had left before. The people, indeed, may have deserved the 
most of blame for the difficulties that arose ; and they were 
certainly in a temper to enter too readily into a quarrel. But, 
however that may have been, and in every such case where 
the minister is involved, the remedy, by removal at least, rests 
with him ; since he can, at all events, go from the parish, 
while the parish cannot readily move away from itself. This 
remedy, moreover, is commonly the better the sooner it is 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 23 

applied. In this instance the dissensions had grown too deep 
and bitter for any such curing. 

Mr. Bayley did not, in fact, make a complete removal. In 
the year 1680, certain of his late parishioners — Thomas, 
Nathanael, and John Putnam, Joseph Hutchinson, and Thomas 
Fuller, sen. — made him a gift of about forty acres of land, lying 
in part upon the hill and meadow east of the meeting-house. 
Here he had a house, which was his home, apparently, for 
several years, and which, Mr. Upham says, he continued to 
occupy occasionally " for some years after the witchcraft trans- 
actions." 

This gift of land, however, had been promised, if not, as it 
would seem, actually made, several years before, and soon after 
his engagement to preach. Among the pajoers that went up 
to the General Court in 1679, bearing on these ministerial 
difficulties, and which are now preserved at the State House, 
is one which purports to be a copy, probably from the original 
Village Book, of a record of a gift of upland and meadow-land, 
amounting to about forty acres, to Mr. Bayley, and from the 
same men above named, save that Jonathan Ray occupies the 
place of Thomas Fuller. The land was in several lots ; but the 
most of it was situated upon " Hadlock's Hill" and "Crom- 
well's Meadow." The hill was that upon which the houses of 
Mr. Benjamin Hutchinson and M.r. Geo. H. Wood now stand ; 
and the meadow was on the Ipswich River. This instrument 
bears date "21 — i2mo — 1672" (that is, March 3, 1673, N. S.). 

It is likely that this gift had not been carried out in full, or 
the title, at any rate, had not been made complete ; and hence 
the recorded deed of 1680. But it is probable that some por- 
tions of the land had been all along in Mr. Bayley's possession. 
The site of Mr. Bayley's house is known to have been near the 
present residence of Mr. Hutchinson, and a little to the west- 
ward from it. We may conclude, I think, that he had built 
this house during the period of his ministry, with his own 
means, after waiting in vain for some time to see if the parish 
would take any steps in that line. There is confirmation 
for this opinion in the fact that in a letter addressed by Mr. 
Bayley to the parish in 1679, and preserved at the State 



24 HISTORY OF 

House, he speaks of his being obliged, " in order to a settle- 
ment, to expend considerable estate" amongst them.* 

Under the peculiar circumstances of the case it was not wise 
for Mr. Bayley to remain in the village. His staying kept the 
old troubles alive in memory, and excited also continually the 
wishes of his friends that he might be again employed as their 
minister. The matter was made worse by the connection 
which had been formed with one of the principal families of 
the place, through the marriage of the sister of his wife with 
Thomas Putnam, jun. There is no evidence, so far as I can 
discover, that Mr. Bayley was ever himself a mover in any of 
these projects of his friends ; nor does he |ppear to have been 
at ail involved in the fiercer strifes of the witchcraft delusion. 
His faults may probably have been, for the most part, of a 
negative sort. That he went no further in the ministry, leaving 
it thus early in life, for no strong bent toward any other pur- 
suit ; and that he entered another profession only, as it 
would seem, doubtfully and late, — may show that he was 
lacking in steadiness of purpose, and force of character. There 
are other indications to the same effect. 

After leaving the ministry, Mr. Bayley became, in time, a 
physician, practised in this profession at Roxbury, and died in 
1707. 

There is still standing upon the place he once owned a pear- 
tree, dating from Mr. Bayley's time, and bearing both native 
and grafted fruit. I have tasted this year of the product of 
the tree. The native pear is neither pleasant to the eyes, nor 
" to be desired to make one wise ; " and, if the village pastor 
was accustomed to eat freely of this fruit, any peculiar crooked- 
ness of temper he may ever have shown might, perhaps, be 
naturally accounted for. 

The papers already referred to, on file at the State House, 
relating to the affairs of Salem Village in Mr. Bayley's time, 

* Since writing the above I have observed that one of Mr. Bayley's letters at 
the State House, written in August, 1679, ^^ dated "from my house." This 
makes it certain, that, as I had been led to suppose, he had a house of his own 
before the close of his ministry. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 25 

arc interesting in many particulars. The handwriting in sev- 
eral instances is, in the judgment of the author of this sketch, 
at least peculiar. The matters set forth are certainly not less 
so. 

Mr. Bayley addressed a letter to the inhabitants, com- 
plaining of the uncertainties of his situation, and mentioning 
the expense to which he had been subjected. Fifteen of his 
parishioners, under the lead of Nathanael Putnam and Bray 
Wilkins, answered that he was not fairly settled among them ; 
that they " doubted if he could prove his call ; " that as to his 
estate, they " were sorry he had not been better advised ; " 
and that they were not edified with his preaching. To this 
a much larger number made rejoinder, that the engagement 
was in due order ; that he was virtually " settled " among them 
by his "promise not to leave without consent of the people." 
And they add a remark, referring to certain names among the 
fifteen, that must have been meant to be impressive, and the 
like of which it would hardly occur to any one in our times to 
make : to the effect that it was a strange thing that they, " who 
think themselves the only persons capacitated to act about a 
minister, should so contradict themselves as to admit of 
Thomas Wilkins, Henry Wilkins, John Kenny, &c., as com- 
petent judges .of a minister's abilities " ! 

These persons, some of whom, if not all, were afterward in 
good repute in the parish, and holders in some instances of 
public ofihce, may then have been young men, and perhaps be- 
low the standard, in those times, for sobriety of manners. 

From these papers we learn that the number of church- 
members in the village — members, that is, of the church in 
Salem — was "about 11 or 12," and that of the householders 
" about fifty." 

The General Court, in its endeavors to settle the village 
troubles, had directed, that, although there was no church, two 
men should be chosen each year "to supply the place of dea- 
cons," and specially to receive the money collected by the 
parish committee, and settle with the minister. The first ofifi- 



26 HISTORY OF 

cers bearing this name were Lieut. John Putnam and Nathanael 
Ingersoll, who were chosen in December, 1679. The next 
year a cliange was made ; and tlie deacons were Lieut. Thomas 
Putnam and Sergeant Jonathan Walcott. After three years, 
in 1683, Nathanael Ingersoll was put again into the place with 
Lieut. Putnam. In 1686 Jonathan was put instead of Thomas 
Putnam. 

From this time unto the organization of the church there is 
no mention upon the records of any election of deacons. The 
same persons may have continued in the ofhce.* 

Mr. George Burroughs, another Harvard man, came to the 
village to preach in November, 1680. For his support the 
Farmers voted as follows : " That Mr. Burroughs for his mente- 
nance amongst us Is to Have for the year enseuing sixty pounds 
In and as money one third part in mony cartain the two thirds in 
provision at money price as followeth : Ry and barly and malt 
at three shillings per bushel : Indian corn at two shillings a 
busliel beaf at three half-pence a pound and pork at 2 pence 
a pound Butter at 6 pence a pound and this to be paid at each 
half year's end : it is to be understood that It shall be at the 
Inhabitants Liberty to discharge the wholl Sixty pounds in 
all mony if they se cause and his firewood." 

But the friends of Mr. Bayley were not at ease ; and troubles 
continued. Mr. Burroughs gave up his engagement, and left 
the place early in 1683 ; his ministry covering two years, and 
probably one-quarter of the third. 

Little is known of Mr. Burroughs beyond what appears in 
connection with the history of this village. His experiences 
here were stormy and sad, both during his brief stay as 

* The keeping of the records passed, in 16S7, for a time out of the hands of 
the excellent clerk, Thomas Putnam, jun., and was but imperfectly done. Mr. 
Upham speaks of Edward Putnam as having been deacon for some time previous 
to the organization of the church. He may possibly have been in the year 1687 
or 1688; but, as to evidence that ht was, Mr. Upham, whose care for details is 
a matter of admiration, was misled by an inaccurate reprint of documents in the 
Salem Court House, respecting the difficulties between Mr. Parris and his 
parishioneis, and having a reference to the deacons. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 27 

preacher, and afterward to the tragic end. He was neglected 
as to his salary, and saw but little of " mony cartain." His 
wife died ; and he had not of his own wherewith to pay for her 
burial. He was insulted in public, and publicly arrested for 
no cause, he only being wronged. And he was not safe when 
he had departed. Years afterward, in a time when all evil 
passions were let loose, the animosities of the people he had 
left went after him to the wilds of Maine, and brought him 
back to a trial in the mockery of justice, and to a death from 
the barbarity and shame of which he alone, of all concerned, 
was clear. 

At a meeting held Dec. 27, 168 r, it was " agreed upon and 
voted for the futer by the Inhabitants of Salem Village : that 
the Ratte made for the Defraiing of all our charges for the 
year 168 1 : both for Houses and Lands with all other Con- 
sarnes belonging to thee Ministry amongst us shall Be entered 
In our Book of Records with the names and perticular 
summes : And that it shall not Bee Lawful for the Inhabit- 
tants of this Village to convey the Houses or Lands or any 
other consarnes Belonging to the Ministry to any perticular 
person or persons not for any cause by voat or other ways : 
But this estate to stand good to the Inhabitants of this place 
and to their successors for ever (for them)." 

Both of these votes are significant with respect to the nature 
of the troubles existing among the Farmers, which had to do 
largely with pecuniary affairs. Of this fact there are many 
other clear indications. The attempt to prohibit in this 
manner the transfer of the real estate belonging to the parish 
was of course impracticable ; since what was once fixed by 
vote only could be at any time by vote unsettled. Whether 
the original conveyance of these ministerial lands to the parish 
should not have secured them against alienation ; and whether, 
indeed, it did not in some cases do this by just force of law, — is 
another ciuestion of some importance in this history, and, per- 
haps, not wholly without some present interest. However 
that may be, there can be no doubt but that the aim in this 
action was a wise one. 



28 HISTORY OF 

It is evident, too, that some movement had already been 
made or threatened, looking toward the gift of these properties 
to the minister, — a business that afterward caused more of 
trouble. Whether this effort was made in behalf of Mr. 
Bayley or Mr. Burroughs I find no means of determining with 
certainty ; though all the probabilities indicate that it was 
for Mr. Bayley. To whomsoever it had reference, the re- 
flections which it suggests concerning him are not pleasant. 

The direction for the full recording of rates and of all 
money transactions indicates what we know also from other 
sources, that there were uncertainties, and consequent disput- 
ings, as to how much had been paid by individuals, an4 what 
might be still due from them or to them. 

If the wholesome rule expressed in this vote had never 
before or afterwards been disregarded, I am persuaded that a 
great proportion of these strifes among the Farmers might 
never have arisen. Such mischief comes of breaking the 
divine command to "provide things honest in the sight of 
all men." 

The "rate " for 1681 follows immediately upon the record ; 
but similar entries were not made with uniformity and full- 
ness until fifteen years later, and with the coming of better 
times. 

I transcribe here this first record of assessment, since it 
gives the names of the men who then lived within the village, 
and shows something of their rank as to property ; although 
some of these persons we're undoubtedly taxed also for parish 
purposes in Salem, upon property lying in that town, outside 
the village. 

Rate of 1681. 



£ S. D. 

Lieut. Thos. Putnam lo 6 3 

Richard Hutchinson 296 

Nathanacl Putnam 910 o 

Lt. John Putnam 8 o o 

Joseph Porter 6 3 o 

Henry Kenny 2 5 o 



£ s. D. 

Jonathan Walcott 360 

Israel Porter i 10 o 

John Buxton. , 3 15 o 

Lot Kellom i 4 o 

Joseph Holton, senr 360 

Isaac Goodall's widdow 010 o 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



29 



£. s. D. 
Thomas Flint 520 

Gilles Gory (Cory) o 4 o 

Joseph Pope 3 o o 

Elisha Cuby 033 

\Vm. Nichols o 10 o 

Isaac Cooke o 4 3 

William Sibley 4 16 o 

Jose]5h Roots o 4 9 

John Giles o 6 3 

Andrew Eliot 050 

' \Vm. Uodge 066 

Joseph Boys. o 3 3 

Samuel Sibley i iS o 

Job Swinerton, sen 3 o o 

Job Swinerton, jun 4 10 o 

Peter Prescott i 4 6 

James Smith i 4 6 

John Burroughs i 5 6 

Thomas Keny i 10 o 

William Way I 10 o 

Thomas Putnam, jun 2 14 o 

John Putnam, jun 2 14 o 

George Flint i 7 o 

John Fl int i 7 o 

William Osburne o 3 o 

Nath. Aires i 4 o 

Thos. Bayly 013 c 

Daniel Rea 300 

Thomas Cane o 3 o 

Peter Cloys i 8 6 

Abraham Walcott o 9 o 

Peter Woodbery 026 

Francis Nurs o iS 

Samuel Nurs i 4 o 

John Tarbill i 4 o 

Thomas Preston i 10 o 

William Buckley 140 

Benjamin Holton i i o 

Joseph Woodrow o 15 o 

Thomas Clark o 13 o 

John Nichols 010 o 



£. S. D. 

John Darling o 10 o 

Joseph Holton, jun i 12 o 

Jonathan Putnam i 16 o 

Edward Putnam i 17 o 

Thomas Haile o 7 6 

Daniel Andrew 5 19 3 

Sam. Brabrook o 16 o 

Zacca. Herrick oi2 o 

Nath. Felton, jun o 5 o 

Thos. F'uller, sen 8 6 o 

Henry Renols o 2 3 

Jerimy Watts i 5 o 

Joseph Hutchinson 612 3 

Nath. Ingersoll 3 12 o 

Joshua Rea 7 7 o 

John Brown " 3 i 6 

James Hadlock, sen i 9 3 

James Hadlock, jun i 4 o 

Francis Gefords's farm (?). ... 176 

Thomas Haines 226 

Jonathan Knight i 10 o 

John Kenny i 10 o 

Aron Way i 19 o 

William Jerland 250 

Thomas Fuller, jun 2 8 o 

John Sheepard i 10 o 

Zaccary Goodell 2 14 o 

John Gingill 3 10 6 

Bray Wilknes 2 12 6 

Samuel Wilknes i 16 o 

Thomas Wilknes 2 16 9 

Henry Wilknes i 10 o 

Benj. Wilknes i 16 o 

Edward Bishop 2 8 o 

Joseph Herrick 3 o o 

Thomas Rament 2 14 o 

Ezekill Cheever 013 o 

Joseph Mazary 2 o o 

Alexander Osborn 2 2 o 

John Adams i 2 6 

William Rament o 9 9 



The whole tax amounted to a fraction above two hinidrcd 
pounds ; indicating the collection of a considerable sum in 
payment for the minister's house, then in process of building. 
The number .of names is ninety-four, representing a popula- 
tion of not far from five hundred. 



30 HISTORY OF 

Next came Mr. Deodat Lawson. His first name belied 
him. He could not have been divinely given to this people, 
save in the way of bare allowance. He was long in coming. 
The people began to move to get him in May of 1683. He 
may, probably, have preached occasionally in the summer or 
autumn, but not with any regularity. They tried in vain " to 
treat with him." They sent to Boston to see him (for he 
was a Boston man) ; but he kept them in suspense. It is 
possible something in the terms they offered may have 
justified this, but not probable. For he appears to have 
come at last upon the same salary with Mr. Burroughs ; and 
this, it is likely, they were ready to have given at first. Per- 
haps he was waiting to see if Providence might not call him 
to some larger place. In December they were nearly ready 
to give him up. Mr. Daniel Epps, meanwhile, had supplied 
the pulpit for many weeks.* But in January they tried him 
again, offering " Mr. Burroughs his salary of sixty jDounds 
only corn at 2s. 6d. per bushel." Corn had risen ; and these 
Farmers were not the men to lose that advance of a quarter. 
This proposal Mr. Lawson seems at last to have accepted ; 
and he came soon after, probably in February, 1684, to make 
his residence in the village. Neither Mr. Epps nor Mr. Bur- 
roughs had at this time been paid in full, — notwithstanding 
the people looked so sharply after their corn ; and, if Mr. Law- 
son had made a stand to have these accounts settled before he 
closed his bargain, nobody could have blamed him. It is not 
most pleasant paying for one's food long after it has been 
eaten ; and the same thing would seem to have been true of 
this preaching. 

As to Mr. Lawson's ministerial work in this parish, little, 
really, is known. This only, is certain, — that there continued 
to be dissensions among the people, both old and new, and 
with increasing bitterness. 

The condition of the Book of Records attracted attention. 
It was judged that it contained votes improperly recorded, 

* This was the famous Salem schoohnaster of that name. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 31 

and that some votes were omitted ; and concerning yet 
others, tliough the entry was not questioned, it was thought 
that the action itself recorded was ill-advised, and injurious to 
the interests of the inhabitants. After much difficulty, the 
matter was finally arranged by the procuring a new book, — 
that which we now have, — into which was transcribed the 
substance of the old, leaving out such parts as were ob- 
jected to. The proceeding was, perhaps, injudicious. It 
certainly has become the occasion, when viewed in the light 
of later occurrences, of much suspicion cast upon these Far- 
mers ; and it has helped, no doubt, to make their conduct 
appear worse than it was. It would have been better if they 
had contented themselves with repealing the obnoxious votes. 
I am convinced, however, that in this particular they have suf- 
fered in reputation somewhat beyond their deserts. And in 
this matter almost alone, I think Mr. Upham has done them, 
without meaning it, some slight injustice. I do not believe 
that any dark doings of much account were so attempted to 
be covered up ; nor that there was any special thought at all 
in what was done, of the scrutiny or judgment of future times 
upon the record of their parish action. They had, rather, in 
mind, we may think, certain business matters in which they 
were or might be then engaged, and the record of which 
had become in some cases confused and entangled. They 
were money matters undoubtedly ; and of no great conse- 
quence, the most of them, beyond the time then present. 
And it must not be forgotten that the original and apparent- 
ly the chief ground of complaint, with regard to the book, 
was in its alleged inaccuracy and incompleteness. The 
main grievance was, not that it told too truly what had been 
done, but that it failed to tell it truly. This might be abun- 
dantly established by the most copious c|uotations from the 
record. There is indirect evidence too, of the most decisiv^e 
kind, bearing on this point ; as in the votes that were passed, 
one of which has been already cited, directing that greater 
care should be had in setting down all particulars of 
money transactions. Another instance of the same sort 
appears in an order adopted in March, 1685 ; that "the Com- 



32 HISTORY OF 

mittee in Being shall keep the original papers that the voats 
are written on : and at the year's end they shall be compared 
with the Book : when the committee shall give an ac- 
count of the voats that have passed." Conformably to this 
we find, that, when the various disputes of the people were 
referred for advisement to a committee of five gentlemen from 
Salem, they recommend in their report that " for the future 
no votes be recorded but in the presence of the assembly that 
votes them :.or at least at the next lawful meeting being again 
publickly read which if it be done and the vote read publickly 
after it is recorded will undoubtedly prevent any reflection for 
the future upon the Book or Book keeper." This shows plainly 
that doubts existed with regard to the value of the record itself, 
and that precautions were thought to be needed to make sure 
its accuracy. It is to be admitted, indeed, that some votes were 
finally expunged that had been once properly recorded. But 
even as to these, there was in some cases an underlying dispute 
as to the legality of the action itself thus recorded. And this, too, 
appears in the repeated directions given, as to the mode of 
warning the meetings ; and in the order of June 5, 1683, that 
no matter should be acted on at any meeting that had not 
been mentioned in the warrant. 

Altogether it was not, perhaps, so strange that the Farmers 
should have thought it best to begin again with a new and 
clear book. They are not open, either, to so severe a censure 
as a legislative body would be in the like proceeding : since 
the doings of a legislature are ipore thoroughly public, and 
enter into the history of the State ; while this matter was 
thought to have to do chiefly with their own internal and 
temporary business affairs. 

It is important, also, to notice that the final adjustment was 
one that met with unanimous approval, distinctly and formally 
given ; and it must thus, it would appear, have been reached 
without serious wrong done to any individual.* 

* Special mention is made upon the record (February, 16S7), of Joseph Hutch- 
inson, Job Swinerton, Joseph Porter, and Daniel Andrew, as having " aggriev- 
ances relating to the publique affairs of this place." A month later a committee 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 33 

There were friends, too, of Mr. Bayley, and doubtless, also, 
we may think, of Mr. Burroughs, who would have objected if 
any gross injustice had been done them in this revision.! Fur- 
thermore, it was voted that the original book should be pre- 
served ; and, though this has not in fact been done, yet there is 
no evidence of any general desire, or any desire at all, to have it 
finally put from sight ; nor does it appear that, the new record 
being settled to their minds, the old one was cared for, or that 
it perished otherwise than by neglect. It is not quite unne- 
cessary to add, since there have been some popular misappre- 
hensions on the subject, that all this took place several years 
before the breaking-out of the witchcraft troubles, and that the 
revision therefore was not made with any purpose at all of 
covering up that dark chapter of history. 

The state of the record for these first years having been 
thus referred to, it is proper to add that, for the period cov- 
ered by this history, the records of the church and parish, as 
now existing, are full and exact, taken as a whole, much be- 
yond what is common. 

of six was chosen, having upon it three of these men, with Joseph Hutchinson for 
chairman, with instructions to them to " view our Books of Records [the new 
one was then in process of making] and to coppie out any enterics that are 
therein which they conceive to have been grievous to any cf us in time past, or 
that may be unprofitable to us in time to come," and to bring them before the 
people. And this committee are afterward mentioned again, by name, as approv- 
ing, for the main part, of the form in which the record was finally left. 

t The designation of this matter, so far as relates to these two ministers, in 
the vote by which it was finally adjusted, is as follows : "Tho there are summe 
voates left out that past in Mr. Bayley's Days and summe voates left out 
that passed in Mr. Burrough's Days that are not transcribed : which we conceive 
will be of noe great use to us for the time to come which we leave to Ly in ye 
old Book of Records as they are." 

One of these omitted votes of Mr. Bayley's time has happened to be pre- 
served, being among the documents sent to the General Court at Boston for its 
consideration. It is of date July 3, 1673, •^"'^^ '^ ^ promise to "give Mr. Bayley 
40 pounds in Boardes and Brick and Clay and Stones for SuUer and Well and 
they to be digged and ground to be fenced and broken up for the seteling of 
Mr. Bayley amongst us in the work of the ministry." It is to be admitted that Mr. 
Bayley, on his part, found this vote of the Farmers " of noe great use " in the mat- 
ter of house-building ; and I do not mean to deny that the old record may have had 
upon it other matters discreditable to the people, but only to state my belief that 
the getting of any such votes out of sight was not the main motive in what was done. 
3 



34 HISTORY OF 

We need not, however, undertake to clear the people of 
this village from great blame for the spirit they manifested 
in general through these years of contention and bitterness. 
They had become habitually quarrelsome, beyond a doubt, 
and violent and rancorous in their quarrels. These early 
occupants of the parish were clearly of a vigorous stock, ener- 
getic, and strong-willed. Many of them were men of decided 
character and marked individuality. When contentions arose 
in such a community, it was natural that they should be stoutly 
pressed. Some of these disputes were such as they were not 
altogether, if at all, responsible for, as to the origin of them, — 
as those that had to do with the bounds of their lands, in which 
respect we must believe they were most unfairly dealt by: 
And they were not fortunate on the whole, it must be safe 
at least to say, with respect to the ministers that came among 
them. These were men that did little towards bringing to 
bear upon the distracted people the powers of the gospel of 
peace.* But, whoever was most to be blamed, it must be 
admitted that this village in those years was but an undesir- 
able place to live in. 

John W. Proctor, Esq., in his interesting and very charac- 
teristic historic9,l address, f has said of the descendants of 
these men in a later generation, meaning it in commendation, 
" They were none of your milk-and-water heroes : salt pork 
and bean porridge constituted the basis of their diet." If this 
were also true of the village men at the period of which we 
are treating, and if it had any thing to do with their habits and 
temper, we might wish that their diet had contained some 
slight mixture of water and of milk. 

* I have been slow to frame so severe a sentence concerning these men, my 
predecessors in the Christian ministry in this place ; but I am not able to change 
it. It is not possible, in this sketch, to give all the grounds on which such a 
judgment must rest. Something further will appear as we proceed. The main 
judgment, I fear, can never be shaken. It is confirmed, among other things, 
by turns of expressions in letters or other writings, and by the absence also of 
expressions which the letters of a Christian minister should have contained. — 
This with regard to some. For all the appearance of the record is condemnatory. 
It is the record of the parish, to be sure ; but a minister in such times, earnestly 
working for peace, might have stamped upon it some sign of his desires. 

t At the centennial celebration of the town of Danvers, 1852. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 35 

As it was, the good offices of their friends at Salem, which 
they were obHged to call in, hardly sufficed to keep within 
bounds the animosities of the people. 

For the connection which all these quarrels had with the 
parish and the ministry, and soon with the church, we may 
remember that those strifes are always worst that arise in 
what ought to be the best associations of life. We do not 
break up our homes, and set aside wholly the family relation, 
because the most uncomfortable and scandalous of all conten- 
tions may sometimes break out in these domestic circles. No 
more are the troubles of which we are speaking to be set down 
as of any evil in the Christian Church itself, or in the institu- 
tions of religion. They sprang up, not because of the exist- 
ence and use of Christian institutions, but by their abuse, — by 
the failure, really, to use them ; and because these appliances 
had made as yet no sufficiently thorough and deep impression 
upon the community. 

Efforts had been repeatedly made by a portion of the people 
to secure Mr. Lawson's permanent settlement among them. 
But the resistance was too strong ; and, matters growing no 
better, Mr. Lawson left the parish during the summer or early 
autumn of 1688. He visited the neighborhood again in 1692, 
in an evil hour, and bringing evil with him. The little which 
is to be known further of his clouded life — darkening at length 
into the utter night — may be read in the history of Mr. 
Upham. 



Next came Mr. Samuel Parris ; and it was no change for 
the better. 

Mr. Parris was born in London ; and was thirty-iive years 
old at his first appearance in Salem Village, in the autumn of 
1688. He had been a member for a time of Harvard College, 
but without graduating ; and he had been also a merchant in 
the West Indies and in Boston. Negotiations were soon 
afoot for his settlement in the vacant office. But he too was 



36 HISTORY OF 

slow in coming. His wits had been sharpened in trade ; and 
he was equal to the making a bargain with these villagers. 
And he meant to do it. The business was not concluded for 
nearly or quite a year. The record for this period is imperfect. 
What were the exact terms of his settlement, became a matter 
of dispute between the minister and his parishioners, and 
was a question which they were never able to settle. It 
is not possible now, either from the record or from the deposi- 
tions afterward made in court by Mr. Parris and by various 
persons prominently connected with the affairs of the parish, 
to determine precisely what was done. Under date of June 
1 8, 1689, there is an entry of a vote offering to Mr. Parris a 
salary of sixty-six pounds, one-third in money and two-thirds in 
provisions at specified rates ; he being required to find his own 
firewood, and to keep the ministry house in good repair. But 
Mr. Parris never admitted that he made his engagement upon 
the basis of this vote. So vehement were his feelings on this 
point, that when, some time after his ordination, the entry 
was read in a parish meeting at which he was present, he 
declared, according to the sworn testimony of three of his 
parishioners, that he knew nothing of any such vote, and 
would have nothing to do with it, and that " they were knaves 
and cheaters that entered it," — a saying, we may observe, upon 
such an occasion, not showing much wisdom on the part of 
the pastor that could make it. 

Upon the loth of October, after mention of the repeal of 
the vote of 1681, forbidding the conveyance by sale or gift of 
the real estate belonging to the parish, it is said to have been 
" voted and agreed by a General Concurrence that we will give 
to Mr. Parice our menestrye house and barne and two akers of 
Land next aioyneing to the house : and that Mr. Parice take 
office amongst us and Live and dye in the workc of the 
menestrye amongst us." But here again many of the people, 
on their part, had no better opinion of the means by which this 
entry came on the book. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Parris, supposing he had gotten the prop- 
erty, was now ready to take the office. Accordingly, on the 
19th of November (29th, N. S.), 1689, he became the minister 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 37 

of the parish, and pastor of the church, that same day organ- 
ized.* 

The following is the covenant "agreed upon and consented 
unto by the Church of Christ at Salem Village, at their first 
Embodying, on y" 19 Nov. 1689." It is entered upon the 
church book of records in the handwriting of Mr. Parris. The 
missing words in the first paragraph, indicated by bracketed 
spaces below, are lost from the worn margin of the leaf. The 
covenant was probably drawn up by Mr. Parris ; and I have 
been able to find no other from which it could appear to have 
been modelled. Its last three paragraphs, with the names of 
the twenty-seven signers, are given in their place, reproduced 
with absolute exactness by the new process of " heliotyping."f 

" We whose names (tho unworthy of a name in this (church }) 
are) hereunto subscribed, Lamenting our own great un- 
fitness (for such) an Awful and solemn approach unto the 
Holy God and (deploring.?) all the miscarriages committed by 
us, either in the Days (of) our unregeneracy or since we 
have been brought into acquaintance with God, in the com- 
munion of his churches (which we) have heretofore been 
related unto : And yet apprehending ourselves called by the 
Most High to Embody (ourselves) into a different society, with 
a sacred covenant to (serve) the Lord Jesus Christ and Edifie 
one another according (to the) Rules of his holy word. Being 
persuaded in matters (of Faith .'') according to the Confession of 
Faith owned and (consented) unto by the Elders and Messin- 
gers of the churches (assembled) at Boston in New-England. 



* It should, however, be obseived that Mr. Parris considered his engagement 
with the parish as beginning in some sort witli the ist of July preceding. His 
receipts for his salary are reckoned from that date. He was counted, we may 
suppose, after the manner of those before him, as " stated supply " until this 
time of his becoming the settled pastor. 

The account of the organization of the church and parish in Mr. Nason's 
"Gazetteer of Massachusetts," just published, contains within its first seven 
lines nine material errors ; and, if this very remarkable instance of condensation 
had to be paralleled, I do not know where one might more hopefully look for 
another like it than in that same book. 

t Printing in ink from a photographic impression. 



38 HISTORY OF 

May — 12 — 1680 (which) for the substance of it, we now own 
and profess 

" We do, in some measure of sinceritie, this day give up 
our selves unto God in Christ, to be for him and not for an- 
other,* at the same renouncing all the vanities and Idols of 
this present evil world. 

" We give up ourselves, and offspring, unto the Lord 
Jehovah, the one true and living God, in three Persons, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. To God the Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, as to our Reconciled God and Father in Christ 
Jesus : and unto Christ Jesus, as our King, Priest and Prophet, 
and only Mediator : And unto the Holy Ghost as our only 
Sanctifyer and Comforter : As to our Best good and Last End : 
promising, (with divine help) to live unto, and upon, this one 
God in three Persons : hoping at length to live forever with 
him. • 

" We do likewise give up ourselves one unto another in the 
Lord, engaging, (with divine aid) as a church of God to Sub- 
mit to the order. Discipline and Government of Christ in this 
his church, and to the Ministerial teaching, guidance, and over- 
sight of the Elder (or Elders) thereof, as to such as watch 
for our Souls ; And also to a mutuall brotherly watchfulness 
according to Gosple Rules, so long as by such Rules we shall 
continue in this Relation to each other : And promise also to 
walk with all regular and due communion with other churches 
of our Lord Jesus, and in all cheerful endeavor to support and 
observe the pure Gospel institutions of our Lord Redeemer 
so far as He shall graciously reveal unto us his will concern- 
ing them. 

" In order hereunto : 

[Continued "b^ facsimile on opposite page.] 

* There will be noticed the occurrence, at several points, of phrases which 
have kept their place to the present time in the Covenant and Confession of Faith 
of the church. 



vJ-kUfl^ KAC ^rt \M<Tr:£_rrva^ tr^ iruA- (n*^ fa^aJ^*^) ix,tHi Jka^r- 
^t/i<.rUrvfi,c^ erf f^ -fo^i^^Jh ^ ^f^- 












THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 39 

The signatures of all the men are in their own writing, ex- 
cepting Henry and Benj, Wilkins. These two, with the 
names of all the women, were recorded by Mr. Parris. He 
seems to have omitted, at first, his wife Elizabeth ; and after- 
ward, in order to place her name at the head of the list of the 
women, he changed the numbers which he had before placed 
against each one in the column below. The figures against 
the name of Bray Wilkins indicate his age at that time. 

The sign of mortality the pastor did not have occasion, 
during his stay, to prefix to the names of any of these original 
members. 

The printed Manual of the Church, now in use, is in error 
in omitting four of these names ; and also in many other 
points respecting the membership of the church and the pas- 
toral succession. 

The covenant itself gave promise of better things than 
shortly followed. 

We all know of the delusion which, a little more than two 
years later, overspread the village ; and of the fearful scenes 
of violence and wrong that were here enacted. The witch- 
craft demonstrations began to be made near the end of Feb- 
ruary, 1692, and continued, with fierce excitement, through the 
spring and summer to near the middle of the autumn of the 
same year ; by which time there was a return of reason. All 
the neighboring towns were more or less involved. Twenty 
persons suffered death at the hands of the law ; and im- 
prisonment, loss of property, exile, and innumerable other 
evils, befell a much greater number. The mischief began 
in the house of the pastor of the church ; and he, more than 
any one else, urged on to the deeds of public wrong that were 
wrought. 

Of Mr. Parris himself, it is not easy to know how one should 
speak. He was by profession a Christian man and a minister. 
He fell, it may be granted, upon evil times. He had occasion 
to carry out to its full practical results the prevalent belief of • 
his age ; and, in so doing, he incurred an odium which, for this 
particular matter only, and regarding him in comparison with 



40 HISTORY OF 

others of his contemporaries, is no doubt beyond his deserving. 
It is not for us to decide that his motives in what he did could 
have been only evil, — which, indeed, we have no reason to think; 
nor may we judge that he possessed nothing of the Christian 
character. But it is not unjust nor uncharitable to say that he 
failed to do among this people the work of a Christian minister 
or man. And, whether or not it is unjust or uncharitable, it is 
not untrue that the writer of this account has often wished, 
as he has been reviewing of late the story of those wretched 
days, that his predecessor, this first pastor of the church, were 
personally present, that he might lay hands upon him othei 
than in an apostolic fashion. And, indeed, it may be the 
most favorable judgment that can be formed of him, that 
would place him with that class of men — conceited, punc- 
tilious, officious, perpetually wrapt up and encumbered with 
their fancied dignities — to whom a thorough shaking might 
sometimes be a means of grace. But, though I thus speak, 
the record is one to be read in sadness more than wrath. 

The book of the parish contains no mention whatever of the 
witchcraft troubles. And it never contained any ; for there 
are no erasions or missing leaves. The record of the church, 
kept by Mr. Parris, has but little, so far as concerns the pro- 
ceedings connected with the immediate outbreak ; but it is 
full with regard to the strifes which followed it and grew out 
of it. And it is with respect to these later difficulties only, 
that I feel disposed to speak positively of the temper exhib- 
ited by- Mr. Parris. 

The question has, it will be seen, distinct and broad divis- 
ions. As to witchcraft itself, Mr. Parris is not to be specially 
blamed for having no more light than belonged to his age. And, 
for the great zeal he showed in pressing on the prosecutions, 
it might be thought, and is thought by some, that he did 
no more than to fulfil vigorously, as his habit was, the 
duties which he held to be providentially imposed upon him 
in the position he occupied ; though, on this point, it will 
srtill seem, that, ?,^ pastor of tJiis people, he should have chosen 
that some other person than he might be most prominent in 
bringing upon any of them the last severities of the law. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. ' 41 

Leaving this in part, but keeping upon the same branch of 
the subject, there is the further charge, heaviest of all if it 
were true, that Mr. Parris was moved in what he did, not only 
in a general way, by a hard and wilful temper, but directly by 
personal enmity toward those that were accused ; and that he 
thus maliciously took advantage of the outbreak and the 
excitement connected with it to bring ruin upon his enemies, 
and to break down all opposition to himself within the parish. 
Mr. Upham has pointed out numerous facts which look in this 
direction. But, after a most careful consideration of whatever 
has come to light bearing upon the case, I do not feel that we 
are quite compelled to come to such a conclusion. When we 
remember the intimacies between some of the accusing chil- 
dren and the family of Mr. Parris, it will not appear strange 
that they should have cried out against certain of those known 
to be opposed to him in parish affairs, even without any direct 
suggestion from him. And so long, at least, as the matter lies 
open to any doubt, Mr. Parris should have the benefit of the 
uncertainty. I prefer therefore to think, that, however he may 
have shown a bad spirit in these prosecutions, he did not push 
them forward, and stir up also the passions by which they were 
sustained, with the purpose, known distinctly to himself, of 
gratifying private animosities or compassing personal ends. 
^ But what ought we, then, to have looked for from Mr. Parris, 
when the fury of the outbreak was over ; when it had come to 
be generally understood that the persons put to death had 
been condemned unjustly, or, at the very least, upon wholly 
insufficient evidence ; and when there was time for reflection 
upon all that had occurred } When he considered the desola- 
tion that had been brought into those homes of his people, 
what must this Christian pastor have done .'' If he were con- 
scious of no malice, or of no distinct evil motive in the part 
he had taken, and even if he were not yet quite sure that the 
judicial course pursued had in fact been wholly wrong, — yet, 
when he thought of these most heavy sorrows, in the causing 
of which, for whatever intent, he had assumed so large a share, 
must he not have felt that the utmost tenderness should at least 
be shown towards those that had been thus bereaved } Should 



42 HISTORY OF 

he not have thought that even their unjust reflections upon him- 
self should be patiently and considerately borne ? And would 
he not have conducted himself with carefulness and gentle- 
ness, if not with the manner of penitence, in all that might 
relate to the sad events through which they had passed ? There 
were those involved in the same transactions, that ever after- 
wards reviewed them in this spirit. For Mr. Parris, we are 
unhappily too sure he did not. This is, to me, the most 
unpleasant memory connected with his ministry. 

The part which he took in all the subsequent controversies, 
as set forth by himself, no one can now look upon except as 
most unwise and unbecoming. On the 14th of August, 1692, 
that is, in the very worst stage of the excitement, and while the 
executions were still going on, Mr. Parris caused the church 
to remain after service, it being the sabbath day, and brought 
before them for discipline the case of sundry persons who had 
been absent from the communion for a time, and some of them 
also from public worship. These persons — Peter Cloyes, 
Samuel Nurse and his wife, and John Tarbell and wife, — were 
all near relatives of Rebecca Nurse, who had just been put to 
death, Mr. Parris assisting ; and one of them, Peter Cloyes, 
had at the same time a wife in jail who narrowly escaped the 
like fate. Under these circumstances, the proposal of the 
pastor of the church to inquire after them, and to institute 
proceedings against them, indicates an insensibility to the 
most ordinary sympathies of humanity, that is shocking to 
think of. These proceedings, thus indecently begun, were 
carried on in some form for years ; though the persons com- 
plained of became shortly, in their turn, complainants, and 
formed the nucleus of that party in the church and parish by 
which the removal of the minister was finally secured. 

This whole affair Mr. Parris managed to the last in the 
same spirit in which he began it. He took no pains to con- 
ciliate those whom he had offended, or to make such amends 
as he might for the wrongs they had some of them suffered. 
He remained hard and unyielding. He was sharp in all his 
dealing with them, standing for trifles, tenacious of all the 
ground he held. This appears, for one instance, in the nego- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 43 

tiations with respect to the calling of a council to consider their 
difficulties. He opposed it as long as he might. He delayed 
it in every possible manner, and upon the most shallow pre- 
tences, when direct ojjposition had become too hazardous. 
And he did not finally consent to its coming together until it 
had become evident that the whole moral effect of a council 
would be had, whether one were called or not ; and that it 
would go more strongly against him if he did not agree to its 
assembling. 

His confession, too, which he finally made of his error in the 
witchcraft prosecutions, is of such a sort, that it might nearly 
or quite as well have been omitted.* His strongest expres- 
sions of humiliation are on account of the breaking-out of the 
delusion in his own family ; and these, though suitable enough, 
are entirely consistent with the maintenance of the ground that 
the treatment of the evil was what it should have been. On 
this last, which was the main point, he does, indeed, go on to 
admit that some mistakes may have been made by him, with 
others. But he gives no intimation of any wrong intent or 
spirit on his part that needed to be acknowledged ; but, on the 
contrary, appears to deny that there was any such ; concern- 
ing which, we can only observe that if, by any stretch of belief, 
this might be allowed to be true, then, indeed, he was justified 
in maintaining it. The only passage in which he refers dis- 
tinctly to those upon whom alone the direct and most terrible 
evils involved in the outbreak had been brought, is the fol- 
lowing : " As to all that have unduly suffered in these matters 
(either in their persons or relations), through the clouds of 
human weakness, and Satan's wiles and sophistry, I do truly 
sympathize with them ; taking it for granted that such as 
know themselves clear of this great transgression, or that have 
sufficient grounds so to look upon their dear friends, have 
hereby been under those sore trials and temptations, that not 
an ordinary measure of true grace would be sufficient to pre- 
vent a bewraying of remaining corruption." This must be 

* Mr. Parris does not himself call this document, which is found at length in 
the records of the church, a confession ; but entitles it, " My Meditations for 
Peace," 



44 HISTORY OF 

looked upon as a very remarkable paragraph in such a connec- 
tion ; the only reference which the whole paper contains to 
" corruption " or real sin being thus, in this apologetic and 
back-handed manner, cast upon his opponents ! It is not 
strange that the " dissatisfied brethren," after duly weighing 
this variety of confession, should have made answer, that " they 
remained dissatisfied." 

We need not follow minutely the history of these years. 
The council which met on the 3d of April, 1695, was consti- 
tuted unfairly with respect to the opponents of Mr. Parris. 
But it made a not very unjust distribution of censure and 
advice on either side ; and did, perhaps, all that could have 
been expected of it in the interest of peace, upon the condi- 
tion that Mr. Parris was to remain in the pastorate. But the 
large and increasing minority of the people were not at rest ; 
and they made such further demonstrations as brought within 
a month, from several prominent members of the council, 
including both the Mathers, a letter to the pastor and church, 
advising that Mr. Parris should resign his office. But neither 
he nor the larger part of the church was yet ready for such 
a step. 

A year later, however, Mr. Parris had determined to give 
up the contest. Whether, at that time, he could still have 
rallied a majority of both the church and the parish to sustain 
him further, there are no means of knowing with certainty. 
But, as to the parish, it is probable he could not ; and there 
are many indications that his withdrawal, though voluntary in 
form, was seen by him to be of necessity, and by the force of 
a hostile sentiment against which there was no longer any 
hope of continued successful resistance. But it is in fairness 
to be added, that the adherence to Mr. Parris for these four 
years of so many of his people, including the most of the lead- 
ing men among them, should be regarded as somewhat to his 
credit ; for this support is not to be wholly explained by the 
fact that several of these men had been themselves actively 
concerned, along with their minister, in the witchcraft pro- 
ceedings. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 45 

The ministry of Mr. Parris ended with the last sabbath of 
June, 1696. But the troubles with him did not cease with his 
resignation. Pecuniary difficulties remained. The questions 
touching the original terms of settlement were unadjusted. 
Then there was the,ministry house, and two acres of adjoining 
land, which Mr. Parris had held by the vote of the inhabitants, 
after some sort, and which he now refused to give up. How- 
ever it stood in law, he may have thought there was some 
moral right in his possession, since, in whatever way the 
vote was passed, the land had been with him a consideration 
in his settlement. Into this quarrel with their late pastor the 
people, on their part, seem to have gone with almost entire 
unanimity, and, if we may so speak, with a hearty good-will. 
The business had to them, no doubt, a certain pleasing flavor 
of familiarity and of ancient and established usage. Not 
even Thomas Putnam the clerk now stood by Mr. Parris ; 
though he, with his family, had been intimately involved 
in all the most violent doings of the spring and summer of 
1692. The depositions preserved in the court-house show 
that he entered into the popular movement to regain the par- 
ish property. 

The matter went to court, and thence to a board of arbitra- 
tion, consisting of " the Hon. Wait Winthrop, Elisha Cook, 
and Samuel Sewall, Esqrs." They awarded to Mr. Parris, 
from the inhabitants, besides the arrearages of his salary, the 
sum of ^79. 9^". ^d. ; and required him to give a quit-claim to 
the ministry house and land. 

The affair was not concluded until September of 1697. For 
the larger part of this time Mr. Parris remained in the village, 
occupying the parsonage. Nor, indeed, was his legal connection 
with the parish completely sundered previous to this judgment 
of the arbitrators. (See Appendix B, p. 234). 

Now at length he was gone. There is little among us to 
join his name with the common and kindly memories of 
humanity, saving that his wife died jgst after his resignation, 
and that he set a monument by her grave. The stone may 
still be seen in the Wadsworth Cemetery, bearing the inscrip- 
tion : — 



46 HISTORY OF 

"Elizabeth Parris, aged about 48 years, Dec, July y' 14— 1676, 
Sleep precious Dust, no stranger now to Rest. 
Thou hast thy longed wish in Abraham's Brest 
Farewell Best Wife, Choice Mother, Neighbur, Friend. 
We'el wail thee less for hopes of thee i' th' end. S. P." 

Of this Christian woman, upon whom, besides the ordinary 
weariness of mortahty, there had been cast the peculiar burden 
of these painful years, we may well imagine that she should 
have longed for that rest of which her earthly life, for its out- 
ward conditions, would seem to have afforded but so small a 
foretaste. It may be noticed here, as somewhat remarkable, 
that each of these first four ministers buried a wife during his 
residence in the village. Mr. Bayley lost also three children, 
and Mr. Lawson one, during the same period. The place of 
their burial is not marked nor certainly known ; but it may 
probably have been in the Wadsworth Yard. 

Mr. Parris, after his removal from our town, was employed 
in the same year to preach in Stow, and afterwards at Dun- 
stable and at Sudbury. At this last-named place he died, 
Feb. 27, 1720. His later years were darkened with poverty 
and with manifold troubles ; of which I make mention only as 
a matter of personal history, and not as if they should be 
taken as any proof of the disfavor of God upon him. 

Into the history itself of the great witchcraft delusion I do 
not purpose to enter at all. It has been fully explored by 
Mr. Upham, I shall make only, in passing, some notes of 
reflection upon it, and specially upon the connection it may 
seem to have with Christian doctrine and the Christian minis- 
try. These reflections will of necessity be short and sum- 
mary. 

Belief in witchcraft, with its allied superstitions, has not 
been peculiar to Christian countries. The evil has existed, and 
does exist, and in more obstinate forms, among heathen nations. 
The disease, indeed, as it broke out in this village, was in part 
a heathen importation, — coming in with Mr. Parris's Indian 
man John, and Tituba his wife. 

There is no reference at all in the Bible to any witchcraft of 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 47 

the kind supposed to have been practised here ; and of course 
there is no authority for any such mode of deahng with it 
as was followed in this case. The witches mentioned in the 
Bible were persons pj-ofcssing of themselves to have in their 
keeping power or knowledge of a preternatural order ; as by 
sorcery, magic, necromancy, or divination. This profession on 
their own part is essential and characteristic. They did not 
need to have the thing charged upon them. They avowed it 
and claimed it. They had their living by it. Their successors 
in modern times, so far as the}^ have any, are to be found with 
the impostors whose advertisements are to be seen in the 
newspapers of, the lower sort ; and who, to the disgrace of our 
communities, are still able to live by the pretence of fortune- 
telling, and of the practice of occult arts. The Salem witch- 
craft was altogether a different thing, both in theory and fact. 
No one professed to practise it. The persons charged with it 
denied it. If either party involved in these proceedings bore 
any likeness to the ancient witches, it was not tJic accused, biit 
the accused's. They — these young persons by whom the 
charges of witchcraft were brought forward — did themselves 
make profession of mysterious and extra-natural knowledge. 
They, if any one, might have been proceeded against and 
silenced by some scriptural and reasonable warrtmt. 

That many Christian men of those days thought differently, 
may be of small concern to us. We are interested in showing 
that Christianity itself is not involved in their errors ; and, 
beyond that, our chief business with the mistakes of our 
fathers is to see that we do not fall into them ourselves. 

Going beyond the particular theories and methods held and 
followed in this case, it may, however, be thought that the 
biblical teaching with respect to the existence and power of 
evil spirits gives at least some general support to what were 
then the popular beliefs. The Bible does, indeed, warn us 
concerning the Devil, that he may do us harm. It exhorts us 
to resist him ; and we shall do well to give heed to the counsel. 
It tells us, too, what armor and weapons are to be taken, — the 
girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the prepara- 
tion of the gospel of peace, faith, and prayer. But the weapons 



48 HISTORY OF 

used here were all unlike these, — bitterness, wrath, anger, 
clamor, evil surmisings and speakings, false witness, every 
shape of hatefulness and malice. These are of the Devil's 
own forging ; and they can never be turned to much purpose 
in fighting against him. 

The DevM's aim, too, according to the Bible, is to bring evil 
on the souls rather than the bodies of men, however the latter 
might please him. It was no doubt true, as Mr. Parris said, 
that this great " enemy of all Christian peace had been most 
tremendously let loose " upon this village ; but he did his 
worst work when he stirred up these enmities and evil passions 
in the hearts of its inhabitants. And it may be that he 
wrought nowhere a greater mischief than in the bosom of this 
very Christian minister who thus deplored his coming. 

Furthermore, it may be allowed to be true that in some 
cases, and perhaps in this with wliich we are dealing, the 
power of degrading and dangerous superstitions, and of the 
excitements to which they give rise, is temporarily augmented 
by influences arising from the Christian religion. The original 
endowments of man, and those of the highest with which he 
is furnished, render him susceptible to the force of impressions 
from unseen things. These endowments are liable to perver- 
sion ; and th»y have been often and too far perverted. Once 
thrown from their appropriate balance, the pressure upon them 
of added motives from the invisible world, though these 
motives are in themselves of solid and wholesome truthfulness, 
may increase, for a time, their disordered action. The Chris- 
tian revelation has not sought to withhold the play upon us 
of these powers from the unseen world, as the manner of some 
now would be, — a thing impossible, in truth, to be wholly 
done, and weakening and deadly, if it were possible, to all 
that is noblest in the estate of man. It has followed the style 
of all manly culture, and made it its aim not to lessen the 
force of these agencies, of whatever rational order, that may 
bear upon the soul, but to raise up and strengthen the spirit 
itself, that it may control and command and use them. Pos- 
sibilities of evil are thus involved in these possibilities of the 
highest good. And it may sometimes be, both with indi- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 49 

viduals and communities, that the powers of rehgion to agitate 
and alarm mzy p]-cccde somewhat, in their working, its powers 
to elevate and calm and fortify. Nevertheless, all its own 
proper tendency is toward this last result, and not another. 
They in whom its highest efficiency is realized are not the men 
most open to debasing fears or uncontrollable agitation. They 
are calm, rather, and confident in the presence of dangers, 
which yet they may allow to exist, whether from the visible or 
the invisible world. The great words resonant along all the 
line of Christian revelation are, " faith," " hope," and " love," — 
faith, not fear ; for " God hath not given us the spirit of fear, 
but of power and love, and of a sound mind." And this line, 
comprehensive of the scope of' our, religion, should have been 
written betimes over the doors of that ancient and dishonored 
house of worship, which witnessed so much of the shame and 
misery of these proceedings. 

As to the connection of this delusion with the ministry, it 
might be added that a physician first pronounced the mani- 
festations to be those of witchcraft ; that lawyers and judges 
had their full share in the prosecutions ; and that the official 
responsibility for what was done in the name of the law rests 
primarily on them. And they, it should be noticed, were not 
residents of Salem Village at all, — upon which place, there- 
fore, that odium must not rest. They were from abroad, and 
were among the foremost men of the Colony. Nor is there 
any thing in the whole history more humiliating, or more nearly 
incredible in its folly, than the reception in those courts, as 
conclusive testimony, of a mass of matter in the whole of 
wdiich there was nothing whatever, saving only the confes- 
sions extorted by fear, that bore the slightest resemblance to 
rational evidence. And for the ministers, besides, Mr. Upham 
has said with truth, that, with certain grievous exceptions, they 
were of the first, if not as a class foremost, in discovering and 
checking the course of crime that had been commenced. 

With respect to the " afiiicted children," as they were called, 

who were the chief immediate agents, and by whose testimony 

the persons accused were pointed out and convicted, they 

alone, if any one, and not the victims of their false accusation, 

4 



50 HISTORY OF 

were in conspiracy with invisible powers of evil. They should 
have been stopped at first by a quiet family discipline ; with 
resort even if necessary, as has been often before remarked, to 
the use of that remedy long ago pointed out by the wisdom of 
Solomon. The preparatory dealing they had for many weeks, 
though only in pretence or imagination, with spirits, real or 
imagined, was -a meddling with beings, imaginary or real, that 
never brought a ray of light or any thing of good to our world, 
and whom it is most wise and safe to leave undisturbed within 
their own shadows. 

I will not profess to decide whether, in the frenzied state 
into which they were finally wrought, their experiences were 
in part real, or wholly in pretence and fraud. But it may be 
observed that they belonged clearly with an unhealthy physical 
condition, xA whatever origin. 

They were nearly all young women. The student of 
social history will not fail to remember how prominent a 
part persons of this class have had in other times in similar 
wild excitements. The follower of medical science may add 
the observation, that with this same class, in such unhealthy 
conditions, there often appears a mixture of disease and deceit- 
fulness which no one can separate. That delicacy of structure 
in woman, which is so closely associated with her superior 
grace and refinement, causes her to be exposed to such pecu- 
liar dangers. The more carefully should she be guarded in her 
youth from all influences of that unwholesome order to which 
these unfortunate persons were so fatally subjected. 

Finally, we may consider that there was perhaps some issue 
of good in the overruling providence of God, even from the 
fierceness of the outbreak in this village. The people here and 
in the neighboring region were of a kind to take the matter 
in hand stoutly, if at all. They carried out to the full the mis- 
taken beliefs of the times, and caused their folly and atrocity 
to be clearly seen. The world was beginning to be ready to 
learn the lesson far enough so that it could be made out when 
set forth so plainly. It may be, therefore, that fewer persons 
in number have perished the world over since that time, 
through the power of that delusion, arid that thus less mis- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 51 

chief has been wrought by it than would have been if this dark 
scene in the history of our village had never been enacted, — 
(See Appendix F, p. 247.) 

But better times were at hand. After Mr. Parris had left, 
it was not easy, as may well be imagined, to find ministers 
who were willing to settle here, or to preach with that in view. 
And there appears even to have been considerable difficulty in 
procuring a supply for the pulpit in any manner. Overtures, 
more or less formal, were made to several in rapid succes- 
sion, and, among others, to Mr. Bayley their first minister ; 
but all to no effect. Reflections suited to their situation 
were being awakened in the minds of the people. At a 
meeting of the inhabitants it was voted "by a unanimous 
consent that we will keep Tuesday the 12th of this instant 
October (1697) as a day of fasting and prayer to seek 
direction of the Wonderful Counsellor about providing us 
a minister." On the 19th of November following, — though 
another had in the mean time been in vain applied to, — 
they agreed "by a unanimous consent,'.' as the record runs, 
in the choice of a committee " to treate with the Rev. Mr. 
Joseph Green ; to see if they can prevaile with him to 
come and preach with us a while in order to a further settle- 
ment." 

The committee consisted of Capt. Thomas Flint, Dea. Ed- 
ward Putnam, John Tarbill, Samuel Nurse, John Buxton, Benj. 
Putnam, James Putnam, Alexander Osborne, Benj. Wilkins, 
Jonathan Putnam, Benj. Hutchinson, John Putnam, jun., and 
Daniel Rea. The business was evidently thought a weighty if 
not an arduous one. And it may be noticed that the com- 
mittee embraced a fair representation of what had been the 
minority party in the old troubles, — a practical sign of good, 
appropriate to come after a day of prayer. 

The next week the church had also a special appointment 
for fasting and prayer ; and a meeting was held at the house of 
Dea. Edward Putnam. They prayed " that God would provide 
a paster for this his church, according to his promise made to 



52 HISTORY OF 

his people that he would give them pa^sters after his own heart 
who should feed his people with knowledge and understanding 
that his church may not be as sheep without a shepherd." 
And the account proceeds : " After prayer being ended, the 
church having before this day had some experience of the minis- 
terial preaching and teaching of Mr. Joseph Green amongst 
us, it was then consented to and voted by the church that we 
desire him to continue in the same work still amongst us, and 
that in order to take office upon him : if it shall please the 
grate Shepherd of the Sheep to besto such a blessing upon us." 

On the 20th of December in the same year, the parish took 
corresponding action, " by a universal consent." This same 
term appears with the vote fixing the salary ; the record seem- 
ing, in these pages, to exhibit a satisfaction that began to be 
felt in this new and unaccustomed harmony. They offered 
him a salary which was ultimately fixed at seventy pounds, 
with the use of the ministry house and land, and his firewood, 
which last was after some years commuted for eight fJounds. 
Mr. Green came, and remained with them many months, his 
settlement being wisely deferred, that it might be seen if they 
would hold in the same mind concerning him, and be at peace 
among themselves. In the June following, the church re- 
newed the call, as the parish also did in substance. And in 
response to this we find an entry in the church-book, the first 
in the handwriting of Mr. Green, in these terms : " I gave an 
answer to the church and congregation to the effect that 
if their love to me continued, and was duly manifested, and if 
they did all study to be quiet, I then was willing to continue 
with you, and to engage in the work of the ministry," &c. 

The new pastor was ordained on Thursday, Nov. lo, 1698 : 
a good-omened ,day for this church and parish. Mr. Green 
was a graduate of Harvard College, and lacked two weeks of 
being twenty-three years old. He married in the following 
spring Elizabeth Gerrish, a daughter of the minister in the ad- 
joining parish at Wenham. If his acquaintance with this 
young lady had begun some time before, it is, I suppose, con- 
ceivable that some agrceablcness of neighborhood may have 
had a place among the reasons that made him "willing to con- 
tinue " in this village. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 53 

The parish presently appropriated forty pounds for repairs 
on the parsonage. Probably the amount was thought too 
large by some ; and objections appear to have been raised. 
Very soon after another meeting was called, at which a state- 
ment was made in behalf of Mr. Green : " that he was willing 
the vote of forty pounds should be lett fall : and that if the 
house be so repaired that it be decent and comfortable to 
live in it shall please him." It is an entry refreshing to come 
upon after the dreary pages that have gone before it on the 
parish-book ; and, so far as concerns the spirit in wliich 
affairs of this kind were managed, it is almost the first sign 
the history of this village shows of the existence of the 
Christian religion. 

I may add in a confidential manner, for the benefit of any 
ministers present, that I believe the course taken by Mr. 
Greey is the best one commonly for the matter of getting a 
parsonage kept in good repab\ 

This business was arranged in February. It may add to 
our interest in it to remember that Mr. Green was to be mar- 
ried on the 1 6th of the next month, and would thus naturally 
have some wish that the house should be put in good order ; 
or it may be that he supposed the parsonage would be pleas- 
ant as it stood, after the young lady from Wenham had once 
gone into it ; or, as they must have talked of the matter to- 
gether, we may believe that the lady herself is entitled to 
some share of credit for the moderation and good sense that 
was shown ; or it may be that both of them thought it was 
not best, by askin.g too much, to run the risk of haxing the 
wedding put off till fail. 

Mr. (ireen directed all his efforts towards the prosecution 
of the appropriate work of the Christian ministry. He had 
special care for the restoring and maintaining of peace among 
the people, who had been so long distracted, and who had also 
in so many of their homes the most mournful occasion for 
remembering the strifes through which they had passed. The 
church voted to drop the action that had been pending for years 
against the offending — or aggrieved — brethren; declaring 
that they "looked upon it as nothing," and that it "should be 



54 HISTORY OF 

buried for ever." And there is a minute by Mr. Green in the 
church-book for Feb. 5, 1699, of "a matter of thankfulness" 
in the presence of these persons at the communion with the 
church on that sabbath, for the first time since the dark 
spring of 1692. 

A new era was upon them. In 1701 the brethren of the 
church desired that a day of thanksgiving should be had, on 
account of the peace and prosperity which God had given 
them ; and in answer, as they believed, to the prayers offered 
on the day of fasting three years and a half before. The 
thanksgiving was kept on Wednesday, the i8th of June. 
" God smiled on the season," says Mr. Green ; " and the work 
of the day was carried on by Mr. Noyes, who prayed, and Mr. 
Pierpont preached and concluded.* The Lord help us to live 
his praises." 

It is pleasant and instructive to observe that this beginning 
of better things could thus be traced to the time before the 
settlement of Mr. Green. It was not all due to him, and to 
the blessing of God upon his labors. His coming itself, and 
all his work, were in answer rather to the prayers of the people, 
that had been offered before he came, and while they were 
without a pastor. The church had not been without godly 
and faithful members. Besides the deacons Nathanael Inger- 
soll and Edward Putnam, there were many others, we may 
not doubt, both of men and women, who grieved over the des- 
olations of Zion, and whose hearts, in that time of darkness, 
were moved in penitence and trust to seek the Lord. And 
the Lord, according to his promise, had regard to the prayer 
of these his people, and did not despise their prayer. And 
this is here to be written in gratitude and counsel and hope, 
" for the generations to come." 

The occasions, then, for thankfulness were indeed abundant. 
The change in all respects was great ; and it has also been in 

* Mr. Noyes, of the Old Church in Salem, had been present with Mr. Hale of 
Beverly, at the day of fasting in 1697 ; and the brethren of *his church had a 
pleasant recollection of his services on that occasion. The connection of Mr. 
Noyes with the witchcraft proceedings had been unfortunate ; and I refer to this 
as bringing to light some better views of his character. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANl'ERS. 55 

a good measure permanent. Nothing, scarcely, of imj)ortance, 
before the settlement of Mr. Green, had been done \iy a united 
people. Nothing of importance, scarcely, since, in tlie space 
of a century and three-quarters, has been done in any other 
manner. No minister has been settled except with practical 
unanimity ; and in each case but one, as I think, there has 
been no dissenting vote in church or parish. Nor has there 
been, in all that long period, a single serious and obstinate 
contention among the members of this church and society. 

To one who follows the narrative along the records there is 
a sense of relief and of exhilaration not easy to express. It 
may not be extravagant, considering what scenes had gone 
before, if we recur in comparison to the emotions with which 
the most sublime of poets has described his ascent in imagi- 
nation, from the gloom of hell and the storms and wastes of 
chaos, to the settled and ordered beauty of the world of crea- 
tion and to the light of heaven. May the days of peace 
lengthen and grow bright ; and may no shadow of the former 
darkness return, forever ! 

During these thirty years nearly, from the building of the 
meeting-house, it had gotten much out of repair with time, 
and probably also by ill-usage. It was too small for the 
growing congregation ; and, more than all, many unpleasant 
associations were fixed upon it. In 1700 it was determined to 
build anew house. It was sot on the "Watch-house Hill," 
upon the spot where we are now assembled ; * but fronting 
toward the north upon the other, or " Old Meeting-house 
Road." t This spot is described as being "before Dea. 
IngersoU's door." The house of Dea. Ingersoll stood nearly 

* Tlic watcli-house was designed for observation and defence against the 
Indians, and was probably a strong building of logs. It stood upon the northern 
point of the hill, about twenty-five rods from the meeting-house, and within 
what is now the ])arsonage pasture. 'J'hc "hill"' itself is a slight diluvial and 
glacial ridge of bowlders and gravel, which has been much lowered in parts, and 
almost obliterated, by the removal of materials for roads, and by levelling for 
building-purposes. 

t That which is now the main road, leading southward by the western end of 
the church, was then but a private way and a cart-path. 



56 HISTORY OF 

where the parsonage now does, but probably a Httle farther to 
the rear, or toward the north-west. Dea. Ingersoll gave the 
land ; but the condition was added that " Deacon Putnam, and 
John Buxton and John Putnam and Benj. Putnam becom 
bound in a bond of a hundred pounds apeece to defend the 
title of the said land to the peple as long as they make use of 
it to that end." This provision was made on account of some 
question, afterwards adjusted, with respect to the validity of 
the title by which Dea. Ingersoll held his real estate. 

The building was not actually under way until the next year, 
although preparations had been made. The house was raised . 
in the spring of 1701 ; and the work occupied something over 
a year ; so that the people first met in the new meeting-house on 
the 26th of July, 1702. 

The dimensions were forty-eight feet by forty-two ; and 
twenty feet between the joints. It had a tower, or " turret," 
and a hip-roof, or " gable ends." There were galleries within ; 
and the walls were plastered up to the plates, but left unfin- 
ished above. The projoosed cost \vas three hundred and thirty 
pounds, which fell short of the sum required. About thirty-six 
pounds were raised by subscription among the " neighburs ; " 
that is, persons attending meeting at the village, but living 
beyond the parish bounds. Mr. Green, however, as being a 
person not regularly taxed, set his name first to this subscrip- 
tion for the sum of ten pounds. Only one or two persons in the 
parish paid more. Some help was also received from Salem. 

The building committee were Capt. Thomas Flint,* Mr. 
Joseph Pope, Lieut. Jonathan Putnam, Mr. Joseph Herrick, 
and Bcnj. Putnam. It was voted that those that had their 
road shortened to the meeting-house by the change of location 
should do the work of levelling the new ground. And, more- 
over, though the people were done with quarrelling, yet, since 
they had not been through so much litigation without having 
their wits sharpened, they took care to direct that the new 

* Capt. Thomas Flint was a carpenter ; and in the Genealogy of the Flint- 
Family, p. 9, he is said to have built "the first meeting-house in Salem Village." 
But it does not appear to be certain whether it may not have been this second 
house, the first upon the spot now occupied, of which he was the builder. 




■: :■- i I 






f^mu^^'^ 



I If l^.« 




MEETING-HOUSE OF 1701. 



THE FIRST TARISIT IN DANVERS. 57 

house should not be raised until this work of levelling was 
fairly done. 

A good representation of this house is given on the opposite 
page. It stood through most of the century, to 1785. 

The seats in these houses, as is well known, and until recent 
times, were assigned to each person by a committee appointed 
for the purpose. The seating committee were instructed to 
have respect, first to age, next to office, and lastly to rates or 
taxation. The men and the women were seated ordinarily 
apart, and with little regard to the kqeping of families together. 
The old men thus sat near the pulpit on one side, and the aged 
women on the other. The details of these seatings are still 
preserved. The main body of the house was set with Ijenches, 
answering roughly to modern " settees." But permission was 
given from time to time for persons mentioned by name, to 
build other pews or seats, with explicit directions as to their 
construction, and the individuals by whom they were to be 
occupied. It is recorded that at one time " several young 
women " had leave granted them to put up a seat, but with the 
provision that they should "raise it no higher" than those ad- 
joining. For what reason it should have been thought that 
these young women might be inclined to make their seat 
higher than the rest, I am \^holly unable to imagine 



During these years the attention of the people was directed 
to the making some provision for the education of their 
children. Before this time, though there had been schools in 
Salem, yet there had probably been none, within the limits of 
the present town of Danvers, publicly and permanently es- 
tabhshed. The first reference to the subject w^hich I have 
noticed in the parish records is for the year 1701, when it was 
voted " that Mr. Joseph Herrick and Mr. Joseph Putnam and 
John Putnam jun. are chosen and empowered to agree with 
some suitable person to be a school-master among us, in some 
convenient time ; and make return therefor to the peoi)le." 
These men were the first school-committee in our town. It is 
doubtful, however, if, with this committee, the "convenient 



58 HISTORY OF 

time " for hiring a teacher ever, in fact, came. The passage 
of such a vote in one of these meetings, it must be said, does 
not of necessity signify accomplishment. Money was of right 
to be expected, and was afterward received, from the town of 
Salem, where their taxes were paid. And the next mention of 
the matter is eleven years later, at which time a committee 
was appointed to receive whatever might be furnished by the 
selectmen of Salem. And they were directed with this money 
to make payment to " ye widow dealand " of " five pounds 
which is her due for keeping school in ye village formerly ; " 
and also " to invite her to come and keep school in ye village 
again, and to engage her five pounds a year for two years, of 
that money that is granted to us by the Town for a school." 
Nearly a year later there is a receipt signed ' by " Katharin 
Daland" for this five pounds, due "for Keeping School at Sa- 
lem Villig at ye School House near Mr. Green's." 

The diary of Mr. Green, which has been fortunately pre- 
served, gives us some further information. This diary has 
been printed, or the most of it, in the Historical Collections of 
the Essex Institute, with a preface and notes by Dea. Samuel 
P. Fowler. It covers the larger part of the period of his 
ministry, though the entries are often far apart. It is a me- 
morial of great interest ; and it is the more interesting for its 
having been intended, evidently, only for his own use. 

In the year 1 708 he has this record : — 

March 11. My lectures; full assembly, few strangers. I spoke to 
several about building a schoolhouse, and determined to do it, &c. 

18. I rode to ye neighbors about a schoolhouse, and found them 
generally willing to help. I went to Wenham p.m. Bad riding as ever 
was. 

22. Meeting of the Inhabitants. I spoke with several about building 
a schoolhouse. I went into ye Town Meeting * and said to this effect : 
Neighburs, I am about building a schoolhouse for the good education of 
our children, and have spoken to several of the neighbors who are willing 
to help it forward, so that I hope we shall quickly linish it ; and I speak 
of it here that so every one that can have any benefit, may have opportu- 
nity for so good a service. Some replyed that it was a new thing to them^ 
and they desired to know where it should stand, and what the design of it 

* That is, a meeting of the inhabitants of the village. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DAN VERS. 59 

was. To them I answered tliat Deacon IngersoU would give land for it 
to stand on, at the upjjer end of the Training field, and that I designed 
to have a good schoolmaster to teach their children to read and write 
and cypher and every thing that is good. Many commended the design, 
and none objected against it. 

25. Began to get timber for schoolhouse. 

There are accounts following of the raising and underpin- 
ning of the building, of his preparing the work and getting the 
" mantle tree ; " and on the 20th of September, he was still 
" hurrying about ye schoolhouse." 

It appears thus that this first schoolhouse in Danvers was 
built by the village minister himself ; he directing the work, 
and assuming the responsibility for it, and collecting among 
his neighbors what he could to assist in meeting the expense. 
The usual liberality of Dea. IngersoU is seen also in this 
business. The place where this building stood may not be 
known now more definitely than by this description, that it 
was at the upper end of the " training-field," or common.* It is 
a matter of doubt how much this house was used for the 
purpose for which it was built. Within a few years it became 
common to direct that the school should be kept a few weeks 
in a place in several parts of the parish, rooms being had in 
private houses. The matter was frequently acted upon at 
annual or at special meetings. 

But Mr. Green had not been willing to put off the school 
till the house was done. On the 7th of April he engaged " Mrs. 
Deland " for a teacher ; and the next day he hired a room of 
James Holten ; and within a week " Joseph and John went to 
school." These were Mr. Green's boys, and he had thus a 
si^ecial interest in the- matter ; but his public spirit is not the 
less to be observed. And the whole account gives a good 
illustration of the part that was commonly taken by the early 
ministers of New England in promoting the cause of popular 

* This common was itself a gift of Dea. IngersoU "to the Inhabitants of 
Salcm Village, for a training field forever." There is a tradition that a school- 
house stood at a later date, somewhat farther to the west than the present line of 
the common, a little beyond the house now occupied by Dea. Elijah Hutchinson ; 
but whether this had any connection with Mr. Green's schoolhouse, I am not 
able to determine. 



6o HISTORY OF 

education. It might have been well if in this place his prede- 
cessors had entered upon it, and had turned somewhat both 
their own spare energy and that of the people into this 
channel. 

It was not this first school of Mr. Green's for which there 
was a debt due in 1712 ; for he makes mention of paying "ye 
school dame" himself as late as the last month of 1709. The 
five pounds was doubtless due to Mrs. Deland, — however the 
name is to be spelled, — for teaching during the next year; 
and then there was probably an interruption of the school for 
some short space of time. Whether Mrs. Deland was engaged 
again does not appear. In 17 14 there was a movement to 
secure a master for the school. It was voted that " Capt. Put- 
nam and Lieut. Putnam wher choasen to look after Won, and 
to get him as Cheap as they can for the benefit of the pepell." 
This direction our school-committees have always followed. 

The master thus em.ployed was Samuel Andrew."* His re- 
ceipt for his first payment of wages is in these terms : 
" Saillem vileg November the 3 in the year 1 7 1 4. These may 
Certifio hom it may Consarn thatt I have Reseived of Capt. 
Putnam and Leutt. Putnam the sum of seaven pounds, and 
forty shillings of Sevarall persons for teaching ther Chil- 
dren, the wich nine pounds I have Reseived in full for keeping 
scholl in Saillem villeg I say Reseived By me, SamF Andrews" 
The master is not responsible for the spelling, which is that of 
David Judd the clerk, by whom the receipt was copied. 

From the days of Katharin Deland and Samuel Andrew, 
there have not failed from this village school mistresses and 
masters in goodly succession, and faithful in their work. But 
to this present time, in spite of all their labors, the " w-i-c-h," 
like the grass of a similar name, has proved impossible to be 
wholly extirpated. 

The whole business of the school continued in the hands of 

* I think Dea. Fowler must be in error in giving the name of Daniel KwAxcw. 
See Essex Institute Historical Collections, vol. x., p. 78, note. 

Daniel Andrew, living near the Wenham line, had sometimes had a class at 
his house ; and others may have done the like. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 6l 

the parish until the incorporation of tlie town. The first 
notice of the tlianksgiving collection for charitable distribu- 
tion occurs in Mr. Green's diary in 1707. Whether the cus- 
tom existed before that time is not known. 

The use of the " Half-way Covenant" was introduced by Mr. 
Green. This was an arrangement extensively adopted at that 
time, by which persons who had been themselves baptized in 
infancy, but who did not feel prepared to unite with the 
church, were yet brought so far into connection with it as to 
be allowed the privilege of having their children baptized. I 
think, contrary lo the opinion of some, that political consider- 
ations had little or nothing to do with it. These persons 
must be of a manner of life not in auy wise scandalous ; and 
they were required to make a certain form of Christian pro- 
fession. This profession or covenant, in the form made use 
of iu our church, was one suitable in reality to a genuine and 
thorough Christian life ; and it is not easy to see how any per- 
son who was not a true Christian could have subscribed to it. 
It was not so understood, however, then. And from that time 
forward there were many that thus " owned the covenant," 
who did not thereby become members of the church, and who 
did not regard themselves as having become experimentally 
Christians. 

This plan was entered upon with good intent, and to meet a 
.Serious evil. But it was found in the end to involve greater 
evils of its own ; and it has been abandoned in all our churches. 
With us it was not set aside for more than a hundred years, 
and until after the settlement of Dr. Braman. The question 
itself of the relation of baptized children to the church is one 
which may be looked upon as still open to further and more 
satisfactory adjustment. 

Mr. Green, though not a man of unusual ability, was an ac- 
ceptable preacher. He was sometimes called upon to preach 
on public occasions in neighboring towns. After diligent in- 
quiry, I am unable to find that any of his sermons have been 
preserved.* 

* Dr. Samuel A. Green of JJoston is a clescendanl of Joseph Green. He 
has no knowledge of the existence of any thing written by him, saving the diary. 



62 ■ HISTORY OF 

His diary shows us much of his manner of Hfe, and of the 
man himself. He had rural tastes, as was suitable. He was 
fond of his garden, his orchard, his farm, and his sheep and 
cattle. His business in this line was considerable. He 
owned lands beyond what he occupied as belonging to the 
parsonage.* He liked hunting, and killed eighteen pigeons 
once at a single shot. Now and then he took his boys to 
Middleton to try their hands at fishing. And he could catch 
men ; for his mind was not all on these outside employments 
and diversions. 

There is a delightful ease and naturalness about the journal. 
In the fall of 1 700 they had been to Portsmouth ; and he 
says : — 

" Oct. 2. Came home with my wife, and got in all our winter apples. 
17. Training and trooping at ye Village. I dined with Capt. Flint. 
28. I killed a wild cat. 

Nov. 3. I exhorted ye church to attend ye church meetings more 
carefully." 

The wild-cats happily have disappeared ; but I do not know 
but the exhortation might still be given with propriety. 

There arc many evidences that Mr. Green was sufficiently 
pointed in his preaching. He was a person of some spirit too, 
and not a merely inoffensive man who kept the peace himself 
because he did not know or care whether he was well treated. 
He understood his rights ; and when he yielded them up, as he 
did not seldom, he did it of a purpose. 

Dr. Green is connected with various pulilic institutions in Boston. He has 
greatly distinguished himself during the last years by his vigorous action, as city 
physician, in arresting the spread of small-pox, which threatened the most seri- 
ous ravages. I find him also pleasantly remembered by numbers of our soldiers, 
as an assistant surgeon in the late war ; and am led thus to question whether a 
certain spirit of his ancestor may not have descended upon him. 

*The inventory of Mr. Green's estate gives the landed property as follows : — 

About no acres of land near ye ministry house — 400 Pounds Five acres of orchard 

lot westward of ye house — 120 Pounds Twenty four acres of meadow and upland at 

Will's Ilill — 80 Pounds. Three hundred acres on ye north side of ye Merrimack — 150 

Pounds. 

Adding the personal ):)roperty, the entire estate was, in round numbers, 1,050 
pounds, from which debts of 200 pounds were to be deducted. 

The farm north of 'the Merrimack was near Haverhill, and was bought by 
Mr. Green the spring before his death. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 63 

One fall Benjamin Hutchinson's horses had a grievous 
habit of getting into his orchard. He went to him, and 
prayed him to keep them out. Their owner told him, that, 
" if his feed was not eaten quickly, the snow would cover 
it ; " an answer partaking", it would seem, of the coolness of 
the appn)aching winter. The horses were in the field every 
night that week. He sent for Mr. Hutchinson again, and 
prayed him to mend his fence, which he did ; and the beasts 
were kept out for a single night. Then the " three jades " 
were in the orchard again every night for a week ; and they 
got such a taste of the grass, that it was liard to get them 
out. And at last, as they were trying to drive them out, 
one of the jades jumped the wall by the parsonage well, and, 
falling into the well, was killed. Mr. Green knew, that, un- 
der the circumstances, it was no business of his to pay for 
that horse ; but he made up part of the loss to Mr. Hutchin- 
son, and told him that he did it " to make him easy ; and, if 
that end was not obtained, he should account his money 
thrown away." 

That ministry pasture was hard of fencing, for what be- 
longed to the parish as well as for the share of these neigh- 
bors. The matter came up in the parish meeting for very 
many years ; and, if the work done had corresponded to the 
number and power of the votes that were passed, that field 
would have been walled in like the ancient Babylon. There 
have been no traces, however, within recent times, of such 
structures extending round it. 

The diary abounds in marks of Mr. Green's affectionate in- 
terest in his church and in all his people. I will only cite 
further the following entries : — 

" 1702, Jan. I. Cold. I at Study. Bray Wilkins dyed wlio was in his 
92 year. He lived to a good old age and saw his children's children and 
their children and peace upon our little Israel. 2. The church here kept 
a day of prayer for ye outpouring of ye Spirit of God upon us and ours. 
Lord hear us. Old William Buckley dyed this evening. He was at ye 
meeting ye last Sabbath and dyed with ye cold (I fear) for want of com- 
fort and good tending. Lord forgive. He was alxiut So years old : 
I visited him and prayed with him on Monday and also ye evening 



64 HISTORY OF . , 

before he dyed. He was very poor, but I hope had not his portion 
in this hfe."* 

It would be pleasing to dwell longer upon these personal 
narrations, and upon the pastorate of this admirable man. He 
was the first minister that closed his life among this people. 
In the proper import of that term, he might almost be called 
the first pastor of the church. He died on the 26th of Novem- 
ber, 1 71 5, being forty years and two days of age. Reckoning 
from the time when he began his preaching, about a year be- 
fore his ordination, he had completed the eighteenth year of 
his ministry upon the last sabbath before his illness. 

The funeral sermon was preached by Joseph Capcn, pastor 
of the church in Topsfield, and was afterward printed at the 
urgent request of the people.f He was buried in the Wads- 
worth Burying-yard. 

There may still be made out upon the stone at his grave 
the inscription in Latin, of which the following is a transla- 
tion : — 

" Beneath this turf rest, in hope of a blessed resurrection, the remains 
of Reverend Joseph Green, A.M., deceased. For about eighteen years 
he was a most watchful pastor of this churcli : a man to be held in j^er- 
petual remembrance for the weightiness of his teaching, and the agree- 
ableness of his manners ; who departed from this most laborious life on 
the fifth day before the month of December, A.D. 1715. He had just 
completed his fortieth year." 

There was also written, by Rev. Nicholas Noyes, this not 
very elegant epitaph : — 

" Under this sorry heap of stones 
Rich treasure lyes, dear JosepJCs bones: 
Fi-om Salein Village, Christ will move 
Them to His Salem that's above. — 

* The wife and daughter of William Buckley had been imprisoned during the 
witchcraft prosecutions ; and the family were impoverished by the costs unjustly 
laid upon them. See Mr. Upham's History, vol. ii. p. 199. 

t In a prefatory note by Increase Mather, printed with this sermon, he speaks 
of the people as " honoring themselves in the Love and Honour which they have 
expressed to their deceased Pastor : " and adds, " I am informed that they are 
the rublishcvb of tlic Sermon Emitted herewith." 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 65 

When tlie Last Trurgpet gives its sound, 
The Saints will Start from under ground, 
Be Changed and Mount, with one accord, 
To Meet with their Descending Lord." 

There is extant, too, an " Elegy " of considerable length, 
and nearly equal poetical merit, composed by Mr. Noyes upon 
the same occasion, of which I give the opening lines : — 

" In God's House we of late did see 
A Green and growing Olive Tree. 
'Twas planted by a living spring 
That always made it florishing : 
Filled it with Sap, and Oyley Juice, 
That Leaves and Fruit and Light produce ; 
An holy Tree, whose very wood. 
For Temple use was choice and good. 

But now alas, we weep to see 
An Empty Place where stood that Tree : 
That Green and lovely Tree, whose sight 
Has blessed our Eyes with much delight, 
For his good Nature and his Grace 
Both visible were in his face." 

A more interesting memorial is the minute in the Church 
Book, by Dea. Edward Putnam : — 

" Then was the choyces flower and grenest olif tree in the garden of our 
Lord hear cut down in its prime and florishing estate at the age of forty 
years and 2 days, who had ben a faithfull ambasindor from God to us 18 
years, then did that brite star seet and never more to apear her among us : 
then did our sun go down and now what darkness is com upon us ; put 
away and pardon our Iniquityes o Lord which have ben the cause of the 
sore displeasure and return to us again in marcy and provide yet again 
for this thy flock a pastor after thy one hearte as thou hast promised to 
thy people in thy word one " (on) " which promise we have hope for we 
are called by thy name, o leve us not." 

Thus he passed away from the people and the service of his 
choice. The work he wrought has endured ; and his memory 
is blessed. I am slow to leave this chapter of our history. 
His life will be among the treasures of the church in all its 
coming years. For him, having been faithful in these few 
5 



66 HISTORY OF 

things here committed to his* charge, he has long since, we 
trust, by the welcoming and rewarding Lord he loved, been 
made " ruler over many things." 



It was a little more than a year and a half before a succes- 
sor was established. The people voted distinctly that they 
would " hear more than one minister," — a principle which I 
believe they have followed since on some like occasions. On 
the 7th of August, 1 716, the parish gave a call to Mr. Peter 
Clark. Some negotiation followed ; and they began to grow im- 
patient at the delay, until, on the 3d of December, they renewed 
the offer, with specifications of what they would do for him, 
and added that " we expect a positive answer, and no more 
proposals." Mr. Clark, however, took his own time ; and though 
he began his regular preaching earlier, he was not ordained 
until June 5, 171 7. On the sabbath before he had been ad- 
mitted as a member of the church upon a letter of dismission 
and recommendation from the church in Bridgewater. 

He received ninety pounds salary, with an equal additional 
sum at first as " settlement," and the use of the ministry 
house and lands. This ministry house was much out of re- 
pair ; and, as he had doubts about occupying it, he was author- 
ized to let it out if he pleased ; " Provided he Lett it to shuch 
men as will not Damnific ye house." 

The new minister was a native of Watertown, a graduate of 
Harvard in the class of 171 2, and was about twenty-five years 
old at his settlement. .He married Deborah Hobart of Brain- 
tree, Nov. 6, 1 7 19.* He continued in the pastorate of the 
church for a period of almost exactly fifty-one years,' unto his 
death, which occurred on the loth of June, 1768. 

* Peter Hobart, the father of Deborah, removed to Salem Village some years 
later, or about 1730. He bought land of Robert Hutchinson, and occupied per- 
haps, for a time, his house. But soon after, and using, it may be, portions of the 
old buHding, he put up, upon Hobart Street, which is named for him, the house 
now owned and occupied in part by his descendants, the family of Perley Clark. 
The wife of John Hook, jun., and the family of Benjamin Millett, are also among 
the descendants of the Clark and Hobart families by this marriage. 



THE FIRST PARISH OF DANVERS. 67 

Mr. Clark was a man very unlike his predecessor, and yet 
well fitted to serve the people among whom he came. He had 
a sharp and vigorous mind, with a taste for theological discus- 
sions. He has left numerous published discourses and essays, 
largely upon points of controversy, and amounting in all to 
several volumes.* 

His sermons are forcible, and sometimes eloquent ; always 
exact and sharp in division, and divided, after the fashion of 
the times, at every divisible point ; and in length it would seem 
unutterable. 

Two of these discourses have lately been re-prea-ched in this 
pulpit ; or such portions of them as this people — not other- 
wise altogether unused to experiences of grim endurance — 
were able to receive. The time occupied was fifty minutes ; 
and of one, and nearly the shortest that could be found, about 
one-half was used ; of the other, which I think must have 
been of a full average length, not more than one-third. And 
through such spaces did this disciplined people sit even in the 
cold of winter. 

Mr. Clark had a purpose in these full-grown sermons, what- 
ever it was, and was appointed to make them not shorter. It 
is related of him that at' one time the people, having doubts 
upon this very point, caused him to be waited upon by a dele- 
gation with the inquiry whether he could not shorten his 
sermons. But he answered. No : any of the people might 

* There are now extant of Mr. Clark's publications, two volumes, of 158 and 
453 P^ges respectively, in defence of infant baptism ; the first in reply to " Mr. 
Walton," the second to Dr. John Gill. Also a Summer Morning's Conversa- 
tion, in defence of the doctrine of original sin, with an appendix ; followed by 
a second treatise on the same subject. And of sermons, one preached at the 
Lecture in Boston, Feb. 13, 1734 ; an Election Sermon, May 30, 1739 ; two 
sermons preached at Salem Village on the General Fast appointed on the 
Occasion of the War, P"eb. 26, 1741 ; one preached at the Lecture in Water- 
town, Sept. 10, 1743; another on a like occasion at Topsfield, in June of the 
same year ; an Artillery Election Sermon, at Boston, June 7, 1736 ; a Con- 
vention Sermon, in Boston, 1745 ; a sermon in this place before the Men 
enlisted for the War, April 6, 1755 ; another, Dec. 15, 1757, before a Society of 
Young Men in the North Parish, in Danvers ; and the Dudleian Sermon, in 
1763, which I have not seen ; also, a Right Hand of Fellowship, given at the 
ordination of Mr. James Diman in Salem, May 11, 1737. There may prob- 
ably be others. 



68 HISTORY OF 

freely leave when they judged they had heard enough ; but 
the sermons could not be shortened. An examination of these 
sermons as to their laying-out may lead us to wonder, indeed, 
that they should have ended even where they did ; since by 
the like method some of them might easily have been con- 
tinued to the present time. There was also that in their ar- 
rangement which must have been peculiarly trying to the 
youthful or the inexperienced mind, by the difficulty of dis- 
tinguishing in advance between the veritable and accomplished 
end, and the many awakening but illusory " finallies " by which 
it was fore-run. While passing out upon one of the branches 
of his argumentation, it could have been only the most 
thoroughly instructed sense, if any, that might not have 
judged him to be putting his hand upon the topmost twig 
of the tree, whereas there should be found still remaining 
three and twenty corresponding and loftier limbs, each to be 
gone out upon to its final leaf, before the central summit could 
be reached. 

I give as a specimen of this style a diagram exhibiting the 
plan of one of Mr. Clark's sermons ; the same having been 
"preached at the Lecture in Boston, Feb. 13th, 1734.* It is 
said to have been published, " with erflargements and additions, 
at the request of several of the hearers." But these enlarge- 
ments, whatever they may have been, do not make it an unfair 
representation of his discourses, saving that it may be some- 
what longer than any of the others that have been preserved. 
I give the divisions and numbers only, without setting forth 
the various heads. 



* The volume from which this is taken is made up of sermons printed at 
different times, and bound together. Five of these sermons are by Mr. Clark, 
One is by Benjamin Colman, D,D., and one by Joseph Sewall, D.D. ; and these 
were also preached "at the Lecture in Boston." 

This sermon bears the imprint, " Boston, N.E. Trinted by S. Kneeland and 
T. Green, for D. Henchman in Cornhill, mdccxxxv." This S. Kneeland, in 
1739, was "printer to the Honourable House of Representatives." And, in 
1741, the ofifice of Kneeland and Green was "in Queenstrcet over against the 
Prison." 

The book is the property of John A. Sanborn of Charlestown, a descendant of 
Mr. Clark. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



69 



" The Necessity and Efficacy of the Grace of God in the Conversion of 
a Sinner, Asserted and practically Improved : chiefly for the Direction and 
Encouragement of the Unconverted to pray for Converting Grace." 

Jer. xxxi. 18, latter clause. 
" Turn thou me, and I sJiall be turned j for thou art the Lord my God.'"' 
Exposition of the text, with observations, "first" and "secondly," 
followed by 

General Introductory remarks. 



" Heads of Doctrine.'" 



I. II. III. 

"Doctrine /.," with heads of Remarks, as follows : 



4 I 

" Improvement.''' 



6 (" An use of exhortation.") 



I (= ''Doctrine 11:') 



Objection — Answer. 



--^ I 2345 
1234 

" Word of Exhortation." 

> 

I 2 3 

" Counsel, in a few words." 



-, These numbers 3 and 4, 

2 under tlie 6th head of the 

"Improvement," are brought 

here together in the way of an 

application, and numbered 

I 2 



The E^d. as left by Peter 
Clark. (Officially appended 
by his successor : An Use 
of Caution, "in a few words," 
for other preachers.) 



Plexus. 
(See below.) 



" Motives and Encourasrements.' 



2 (= " Doctrine III.'') 



34561 



I 2 3 



2 3 



70 HISTORY OF 

The first head of " doctrine," the preacher observes, is to 
be mainly dwelt upon ; and the second and third are to come 
in by way of " inference and application." They are, indeed, 
disposed of in a truly wonderful manner by the sixth very ex- 
traordinary head, or little horn, in the " Improvement," called 
" an use of exhortation," which waxed exceeding great, and by 
which both of those capital stars of doctrine were cast down 
to the ground, and stamped upon. 

There is also a very peculiar arrangement, marked in the 
plan as a plexus, which I cannot in a few words, or by any 
diagram, convey clearly to the mind, even if I do myself ade- 
quately comprehend it. It appears to be an instrument for 
the collecting and braiding together of such lines of thought 
as may, from any quarter, be laid hold of, with a view to bring- 
ing them forth in new and unlooked-for directions. But I do 
not recommend its general use. 

The whole number of divisions, as actually marked in the 
sermon, is eighty-four. If the analysis presented is not per- 
fectly plain, I believe the student of the original document 
will find few " motives and encouragements " to attempt any 
" improvement " upon it. . If the author of the discourse had 
spent as much time, to begin with, in making his plan, as I 
have spent in trying to make out what plan he may in fact 
have made, he might so have made a plan which I could have ♦ 
made out in as* little time as it probably took him to make 
the plan he did make. 

But, however, these sermons are far enough from being con- 
temptible. The signs of strength are upon them ; and their 
faults are largely due to the habit of the times. Mr. Clark 
was reckoned among the most powerful preachers in the Col- 
ony. These were " great sermons." And it is pleasant to 
reflect, that the Boston people of those days had some mental 
exercise and some solid instruction, at least when such 
country ministers dropped in occasionally upon them. 

Mr. Clark was noted, moreover, as a man disposed to keep 
abreast with his age ; and, withal, as somewhat less tenacious 
than the most of his associates, with respect to the received 
forms of theological belief. Yet I am persuaded he may 
safely be thought of as " sound." 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 71 

Mr. Clark's strong will, of which there are many traces, 
might sometimes have brought him into difficulty but for a 
strong good sense, which, in most matters, kept it under con- 
trol. He was in repute for force of character and power of 
accomplishment in his household, as well as throughout the 
parish, and in the Colony. It is related of him. that, during 
a summer of excessive ^Irought, the neighboring ministers 
had made an arrangement for concerted prayer for rain, into 
which, for some reason, Mr. Clark had not entered ; and his 
people blamed him for standing thus, as it seemed, aloof. 
Upon their coming' to him with complaint, he told them that 
on the next sabbath he would pray ; which he did, — a copious 
rain immediately following. Whereupon his negro man ob- 
served, that " he knew that when Massa Clark took hold, some- 
thing would have to come." 



A bell was put upon the meeting-house for the first time, 
in 1725 ; the money fof its purchase being raised mostly by 
subscription. It weighed 326 pounds. The bell-rope came 
down from the " turret " above to the middle of the broad aisle, 
where the sexton stood. John Britain, the sexton, soon after 
had permission to move his own house to a spot near by. It 
was set toward the present road, a little to the south-west of 
the south-western corner of the meeting-house, as it now 
stands ; and remained there for many years. This building 
afterward, as I think, became the property of the parish, and 
was called " the Parish house," and was kept for the occu- 
pancy of other sextons. The bell itself continued in use 
nearly through the century. 

In 1727 there occurred an earthquake of great violence for 
this part of the world. The account of it, as given by Mr. 
Clark, is as follows : " On ye 29th Day of last October, Being 
Lord's Day, at night, between 10 & 11 o'clock, y""" happened 
a very Great Earthquake, accompanyed with a terrible Noise 
and Shaking w*' was greatly surprising to ye whole Land, ye 



72 



HISTORY OF 



Rumbling Noise in ye bowels of ye Earth with some lesser 
trepidation of ye Earth, has been Repeated at Certain Inter- 
vals for Divers weeks after." 

The Lord, at this time, was in the earthquake. A special 
day of prayer was appointed. A revival of religious interest 
followed, and many were added to the church. 

The handwriting in which this entry is made is very 
peculiar, and suggests irresistibly that the rumbling and 
shaking must have been still going on when he wrote. The 
record, indeed, for those many years, is not greatly different ; 
so that we are led to question if " some lesser trepidation of 
the earth " did not continue through Mr. Clark's whole min- 
istry, Mr. Green's style of recording, it should be said, was 
not much superior. And for my immediate predecessor I 
will not speak. Mr. Upham has been led to remark some- 
what at length upon the fine penmanship of the first four 
ministers of this parish ; but he proceeds no further. The 
style did not return, unless in part with Dr. Wadsworth. And 
so it seems that the church, despairing of being ever again 
provided with a minister by whom its Records could be legibly 
kept ; or fearing, perhaps, remembering its early fortunes, to 
engage such a minister, — has of late years elected a clerk 
from among its lay members.* This arrangement, however, it 
is important to observe, was made before the settlement with 
you of the present pastor. 

Petitions began about this time to be presented from the 
people at " Will's Hill," now Middleton, asking leave to with- 
draw, and form a separate organization. The men of the 
Village were not pleased with this proposal, and were dis- 
posed " to consider of it until a convenient time." But its 
reasonableness and necessity were soon apparent. The town 
of Middleton was incorporated in June, 1728 ; and the church 
was organized, apparently, October 22, 1729. The ordination 
of Mr. Andrew Peters, the first pastor of the church in Mid- 
dleton, took place Nov. 26 of the same year.f Ten days 

* Mr. Edward Hutchinson. 

t Mr. David Stiles of Middleton informs me that Mr. Peters was styled 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 73 

previously the Village church had chosen its two deacons, with 
Ezekiel Cheever, messengers to the council, and had given 
letters of dismission, and recommendation to the new church, 
to the persons whose names here follow : Henry Wilkins, 
Daniel Kenny, Jonathan Fuller, Joseph Fuller, Isaac Wilkins, 
Ezra Putnam, Edward Putnam, Benjamin Wilkins, Sarah 
Fuller, Mary Fuller, Sarah Putnam, Elizabeth Putnam, Mary 
Wilkins, Mary Kenny, Susanna Fuller, Elizabeth Nichols, 
Mary Wilkins, Hannah Carril, Margery Wilkins, Eunice Lam- 
bert, Elizabeth Eliot, Penelope Wilkins, Susanna Fuller, and 
Susanna Hobbs, — twenty-four in all. 

The residence of Edward Putnam fell within the bounds of 
the new town ; but the person thus mentioned was not the 
deacon, but a son of the same name, and who afterward sus- 
tained the same ofifice at Middleton. The venerable deacon 
himself did not remov# his connection from the church in 
whose welfare he had been so long and so deeply interested. 



The ministry house, through all these years, had been 
mended chiefly by votes, which were not able much longer to 
make it serviceable. At a meeting held on the 1 7th of Janu- 
ary, 1734, it "was put to vote to see if ^the Inhabitants would 
build a new house ; " and " it passed in the negetive." A mo- 
tion to give Mr. Clark three hundred pounds, and let him 
build a house for himself, was disposed of in the same manner, 
— which, indeed, was a very common mode in those days of 
" passing " votes. It was then voted that " we will demollesh 
all ye Lenture behind ye parsonage house, and will build a 

"pastor" on the 22cl of October, — which means that he was thought to be as 
good as settled. But there is a more curious discrepancy as to the date of the 
ordination. It was voted, as appears by the Middleton records, that the ordina- 
tion should be on the second Wednesday of November, which fell upon the 12th. 
But the Village church, on the sabbath next after that day, or the i6th, chose its 
messengers to the council called for Nov. 26. There is no reason at all to think 
that either record is incorrect. The ordination may probably have been post- 
poned ; but neither account gives any mention of it ; and, between Mr. Stiles and 
the present writer, the thing cannot be settled. My inference is, that discrepan- 
cies, not flatly contradictory, bnt uncxplainable, betn'cen any two of the much more 
ancic7it scriptural records, are NO PROOF THAT BOTH OF THEM MAY NOT UK, so far 
as they go, accurate and trustworthy. 



74 HISTORY OF 

new house of three and twenty feet long and eighteen feet 
broad and fifteen feet stud with a seller under it and set it be- 
hincl the west Room of our parsonage house." This supple- 
mentary house was accordingly built, running back to the rear 
of the west end of the main building, toward the north ; and 
in this new building Mr. Clark appears to have had his study. 

From 1735 to 1766. there is a break in the parish records, 
occasioned by the loss of the volume covering that period. 
The book was destroyed by the burning of a house in Putnam- 
ville.* But, besides the unbroken records of the church, we 
have also the book of the parish treasurer, with his accounts, 
covering this space. 

The organization of the town took place within these years. 
Danvers was incorporated first as a district, Jan. 28, 1752.! 
This did not give the right of sencnng a representative to 
the General Court ; and the form of proceeding had been 
chosen to that end, since the English Government was slow 
to admit any increase in the weight of popular representation. 
Upon the i6th of June, 1757, an act was passed completing 
the organization as a town. 

The first town or district meeting was held on Wednesday, 
the 4th of March, 1752, at the Village meeting-house. Daniel 
Eppes, Esq., was chosen moderator ; Daniel Eppes, jun., 
clerk ; James Prince, treasurer ; and Daniel Eppes, jun., Capt. 
Samuel Flint, Deacon Cornelius Tarbell, Stephen Putnam, 
Samuel King, Daniel Gardner, and Joseph Putnam, selectmen. 
The town of Danvers, as thus constituted, embraced, along 
with the Village, the territory lying toward the south and 



* Then called Blind-Hole. 

t The origin of the name Danvers, as applied to this town, is involved in 
much obscurity. There was an English family of the name of Danvers. The 
word itself is " De Anvers," or Antwerp, according to the French pronunciation. 
The occasion of its being fixed upon this town is not clear. I am disposed, on 
the whole, to agree in opinion with Deacon Fowler, who says, in an article 
lately printed in " The Danvers Mirror," " I have but little doubt that our town, in 
some way not yet discovered, received its name from Sir Danvers Osborne, 
Bart., the unfortunate Governor of New York, in 1753." As to the "way not 
discovered," I think it must have been through Lieut. -Gov. Phips. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 75 

south-east to the present boundary of Salem, and then known 
as the Middle Precinct. This precinct or parish had been 
established for the maintenance of preaching in 1710, and 
was the third parish in Salem. After the formation of the 
new town, it became known as " the South Parish," which 
was often shortened into " the South." After a union of a 
hundred years, by a division of Danvers, this became in 1855 
a distinct town, with the name of South Danvers, which name 
was again changed, in 1868, to Peabody. 

It should be borne in mind, however, that not all of the 
territory now belonging to Peabody was embraced in the 
former " Middle Precinct ; " since, as has already been stated 
in another connection, a large section in the north-western 
part of the present town of Peabody was included within the 
original limits of the Village parish. The people of this sec- 
tion, it may be observed, maintained their parish relations 
with us, for the most part, after the incorporation of the town 
of Danvers, and until a comparatively recent period. They 
have now a sabbath-school and a meeting of their own, with 
preaching for one-half the day, in the commodious school- 
house lately erected in that neighborhood ; and it is hoped 
that a church may at no distant time be organized.* 

The region at " Skelton's Neck," " New Mills," or " Danvers- 
Port," became first formally associated with the old village at 
this time of the incorporation. Its inhabitants had been 



* An active part in this matter has been taken by Capt. Thomas Flint and his 
family, descendants of that Thomas Flint who was upon the fii^st Village parish 
committee. The Flint lineage runs thus : Thomas, coming from Wales, in 
1642, and settling in Salem Village in 1654 ; Capt. Thomas, concerned in the 
organization of the parish, builder of one of its meeting-houses, and fighter in 
King Philip's war ; Capt. Samuel, active in the separation of the town from 
Salem; Capt. Samuel, son of the former, and a hero of the Revolution ; Major 
Elijah ; Capt. Thomas of the sixth generation, now living, with children and 
grandchildren about him. 

Capt. Flint still keeps the old family homestead ; and the house has been of 
late repaired and greatly improved. Two hundred and nineteen Thanksgiving 
dinners have been eaten beneath its roof. ^ 

But just as these pages are passing through the hands of the printer, I have 
to add the sad and closing record of this ancient mansion, which has been 
totally destroyed by fire, June 16, 1874. 



76 HISTORY OF 

before among " the Neighbors " who had contributed somewhat 
to the support of the Village ministers. And some of them 
have been accustomed to meet with us until the establish- 
ment, lately, of the Maple-street Church, at the Plain. 

The lost volume of the parish records was undoubtedly 
much occupied with details of efforts made looking towards 
this separation from Salem, and the establishment of the new 
town. Signs, indeed, of this movement are to be found long 
before, and upon the records which still remain to us. 



In 1757 action was taken by the church for regulating, in 
some particulars, the mode of admitting its members. It was 
declared to be the purpose of the church, as it had been its 
previous practice, to admit none to its communion but such as 
had " some competent knowledge of ye main Doctrines of 
Christianity, and who appear to a judgment of Charity, Per- 
sons of a pious Disposition, or who shall make credible pro- 
fession of Repentance toward God and Faith toward our 
Lord Jesus Christ." It was provided that public relations 
of experience should not be insisted on, — which, indeed, 
the rules had not before made indispensable ; and there was 
adopted a " Confession of Faith," to be assented to by such as 
should unite with the church. This is the first appearance of 
" a creed " upon our records. The church had been organized 
by the adoption of a covenant, with its doctrinal basis in a 
general reference, to the Boston Confession of 1680. Whether 
the confession of faith at this time adopted was written by 
Mr. Clark, I have no means of knowing ; but, meeting with 
no other like it, we may infer that it is his. 

It is broad in its terms, as will be seen, and does not dwell 
upon the minuter points of doctrine. It differs but slightly 
from the Confession now in use ; and, in so far as the varia- 
tions have been made by the omission or modification of 
words here empk)yecl, I have indicated them by brackets in 
the copy which follows, and which I give without the ancient 
spelling. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 77 

(i.) [A B, You do seriously and solemnly purpose to] believe in one 
Eternal, Almighty God, the Father [the] Son and [the] Holy Ghost, who 
made the world by His power, and governs it by His providence, [and who 
is the Redeemer of the fallen world by His Son Jesus Christ.] 

(2.) [You] believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament 
to be the Word of God, and adhere to them as the only perfect rule of 
faith and practice. 

(3.) [You] believe that our first parents fell from that state of integrity, 
honor, and happiness in which God at first created them, [and all man- 
kind in them, by their transgression in eating the forbidden fruit, and 
thereby] involved themselves and all their posterity in a state of sin and 
^eath. (The present form substitutes for the lines in brackets the words, 
" and that upon their eating the forbidden fruit, they," &c.) 

(4.) [You] believe tl.at God, in compassion to the sinful, perishing state 
of mankind, foreordained, and in the fulness of time sent, His only begot- 
ten Son to be the Saviour of the world. (The 4th and 5th are united in 
the present form.) 

(5.) That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in compliance with His Father's 
will, took upon Him the nature of man, and therein humbled Himself in 
His obedience unto death, for our redemption. 

(6.) That He rose again the third day and ascended into heaven [as our 
victorious Redeemer,] and sitteth at the right hand of God, making inter- 
cession for us, and [having] power given Him over all things in heaven 
and earth. (The present form has "as" after " again," " ther " before 
" sitteth," and " that He hath " for " having.") 

(7.) That He [sustains and] executes the three-fold ofiice of Prophet, 
Priest, and King, [to His church.] (7 and 8 now united.) 

(8.) That in the exercise of His ofiice as Redeemer, and [of the] fulness 
of power committed to Him, He has published His Gospel covenant, re- 
quiring faith and repentance of sinful men in order to pardon and salva- 
tion. (The present form has " man " for men," with some changes in 
the particles.) 

(9.) [You] believe the Holy Spirit is given through the merit and inter- 
cession of Christ, to make application of his purchased redemption to 
men's souls ; and that His gracious influence is necessary to a life of 
faith and obedience. (The present form has " the souls of mea," and in- 
serts "new" before "obedience.") 

(10.) That Christ hath instituted a gospel ministry, and the two sacra- 
ments of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, as the outward means of the 
application of Redemption, to be observed in His church till His second 
coming. (In tiie present form " has " is used for "hath.") 

(11.) [You] believe in another life after this, and that Christ will come 
again, and raise the dead and judge the world, and that we must all appear 
before the judgment seat of Christ. 

(12.) That at the last day the wicked shall be adjudged to everlasting 
punishment, and the righteous to life eternal. 



78 HISTORY OF 

(In the present form, ii and 12 are brouglit together. " Appear 
again to " is put for " come again and," " his judgment seat " for " the 
judgment seat of Christ," and "will" for "shall." Each paragraph now 
begins with " we," referring to the church ; and " Finally " is prefixed 
to the concluding sentence.) 

It may be here obsen^ed that the records of the church, 
through all the middle and the latter part of the eighteenth 
century, afford evidence, in the acknowledgments that were 
made upon the admission of members to the church, of the 
prevalence of immorality in the community to a much greatqf 
extent, as I must think, than at the present time. In com- 
parison with that particular period, and in this respect, the 
age we have fallen upon is not degenerate. And within the 
same limitations, the observation may be extended, I think, 
throughout the most of New England. 



As his half-century of ministerial labor drew to a close, Mr, 
Clark began to feel the infirmities of age. He w-as some- 
times obliged to stop for a time in the midst of the sabbath 
service ; and on such occasions the deacons would go forward 
to offer him assistance. He was inclined at first to be dis- 
pleased with this, and would give them to understand that he 
could judge for himself what needed to be done. But he was 
approaching those bounds which the most determined resolu- 
tion cannot pass. With the opening of the year. 1 768 he was 
unable longer to discharge the duties of his ofifice ; and a 
supply for the pulpit was procured by the parish committee. 

There presently arose a question as to the payment he 
should receive under this condition of things. His original sal- 
ary had been ninety pounds ; but, through changes in the value 
of the paper currency, as was affirmed on the part of the parish, it 
had come to pass that sixty pounds would then buy as much silver 
as the ninety pounds would formerly have done. The smaller 
sum, therefore, as they claimed, was the amount really due ; 
and though they had, in fact, up to that time, paid the full 
ninety, yet they had done it, they said, as of grace and not of 
debt. And now, unless Mr. Clark would procure a supply for 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



79 



the pulpit, they were unwilling to continue 'what they looked 
upon as a gratuitous payment. A delegation was sent from 
the parish meeting to learn distinctly their pastor's mind. They 
had no difficulty in discovering precisely what it was. They put 
to him two questions : What sum of money should he receive .•* 
He answered, Ninety pounds. Had he thought of supplying the 
pulpit .'' And he answered. No. But the people held also to their 
opinion. The affair attracted considerable attention ; and 
some person caused to be printed, in a paper published by 
" Messrs. Green and Russel." a communication, misrepresent- 
ing, as was thought, the action of the parish. A committee, con- 
sisting of John Nichols, Dr. Samuel Holten, John Preston, 
Archelaus Putnam, and Archelaus Dale, was appointed to 
prepare a reply, which is found at length upon the records, 
and which they were instructed to have forthwith printed. 
The death of Mr. Clark, which soon occurred, did not cause 
the matter to be at once adjusted. Dr. Samuel Holten, Lieut. 
Archelaus Putnam, and Archelaus Dale were appointed a 
committee to settle it with the executors ; which thing they 
found not easy to do. The business, however, seems to have 
been prosecuted with good temper on either side. The com- 
mittee at one time offered to pay the sum in dispute " as a 
gift ; " but the executors declined to receive it on those terms ; 
and the parish also shortly refused to allow more to be 
offered than was recoverable at law. The question w'as not 
settled until nearly three years later, when the executors 
offered to take whatever the parish might choose to pay ; and 
the parish paid, that is for the few months only that were in 
question, upon the basis of sixty pounds. I wish they had paid 
the larger sum : I wish, also, that Mr. Clark had chosen at 
first to receive only the smaller. 

The views of the people were modified somewhat by the fact 
that Mr. Clark was possessed of a very handsome estate him- 
self, — " one of the best in the parish," it was termed. He had 
property by his wife, and probably, also, in his own right by 
inheritance; and he was thrifty withal. As to the legal 
merits of the controversy, the committee were very clear about 
it in their own minds ; but, though one of them was no less a 



8o HISTORY OF 

man than Dr. (or Judge) Holten, yet I do not immediately 
conclude that Peter Clark did not know what he was about. 
For the ground of moral right involved, and making no account 
of the pastor's illness, it is to be remembered that silver itself, 
which the committee proposed to make the sole basis of 
measurement, had been falling in value through all that period, 
as it has been for centuries ; and that perhaps the purchasing 
powers of silver in 1768 and in 171 7 were not, in fact, so nearly 
equal to each other as the corresponding powers of the paper 
money may have been. 

Nothing of all this, however, should be thought of as seri- 
ously affecting the feelings of the people towards their pastor. 
The venerable and sturdy man was respected and honored by 
his parishioners to the last of his life, and sincerely mourned 
by them at his death. 

His burial was in the Wadsworth Yard, by the grave of his 
wife, who had died three years before. 

The account, in the church records, of his funeral, contains 
in the midst of its solemnity, a most singular statement : 

Now it has Pleased God in his holy Providence to Take away from us 
our Dear and Rev*! Pastor by Death M'" Peter Clark, who Departed this 
Life June" ye 10, 1768 — in ye Seventy Sixth Year of his age and on ye 15th 
Day was his' funeral, itt was attended with Great Sollemnity, his Corps 
was Carried in to ye Meeting-house a prayer made by ye Rev*' Mr. 
Diman of Salem a Searmon Delivered by the Rev'^ Mr. Barnard of 
Salem from Galatians 3 Chap. 14 verse. Then Removed to his Grave with 
ye Church walking before the Corps assisted by 12 Bears, with a great 
Concours of People following, after his Enterment Left his Deac* Body 
in ye Dust for worms to feed upon which we Took So much Delight and 
Satisfaction in he is gone who has been so faithfull in ye ministry among 
this People (the number of fifty one years) now he is gone, Never to see 
his face no more in this world no more to hear the Presious Instructions 
and Examples out of his mouth in Publick or in Private any more that ye 
God of all grace would be Pleased to Sanctifee this great and sore bereave- 
ment to this Church and Congregation for good and in his own Due Time 
Give us another Pastour after his own heart to feed this People with Truth 
Knowledge and Understanding that this Church may not be Left as Sheep 
without a Shepherd, but for these things God will be inquired of ye O 
house of Israel to do itt for them. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. Si 

The entry is in the writini; of Dea. Asa Putnam. And, 
despite tlie slips it may contain, it is in a strain of min- 
gling personal affection towards his late pastor, and of pious 
solicitude and trust concerning the church, that conveys 
a pleasing impression respecting the man himself that placed 
it there. Other pages of the book confirm it. And I am led 
here to bear testimony concerning the Christian worth and 
helpfulness of the men who have held that office in the church 
through all its history. There have been cases in exception. 
But, from Nathanael Ingersoll and Edward Putnam to those 
now living, these deacons, for the most part, have been men 
who have honored their office, and have contributed their full 
share to the promotion of the peace and prosperity of the 
church. And I will add my belief that throughout all our 
churches, there is no more reason, in general, for any com- 
plaint to i^roceed from the pastors respecting these deacons, 
than there would be for a reversing of the order of complaint, 
and the making it turn in the opposite direction. 



After the death of Mr. Clark, the parish was for more than 
four years without a minister. Troubles threatened to arise 
with respect to one, Mr. Amos Sawyer, who preached as a 
candidate, and in whom many of the people were greatly in- 
terested. A call was given to him to become pastor of the 
church and the parish. But there was a minority sharply 
opposing. Mr. Sawyer declined somewhat doubtfully. In 
his letter dated at Reading, April 22, 1769, he says, " I am 
heartily grieved that there are so many respectable persons 
among you that are dissatisfied with, and are not sensible of 
profiting by, my preaching. But, as I esteem them men of 
reason and religion, so I can't but suppose, that, were they 
entirely disinterested persons, they would judge as other dis- 
interested persons do ; " (!) " that, considering the grout ma- 
jority for my settlement among you, I should not be justified 
in refusing, if every thing else was agreeable." And he goes 
on to add that the " encouragement " offered is too small for 
6 



82 HISTORY OF 

his support. The cooler-headed men among the people may 
not have had their zeal in his behalf stimulated by the re- 
marks which I have quoted. The parish, however, made him 
another offer, though only changed from the first by the 
striking-out of a clause which their experience with Mr. Clark 
had led them to insert, providing for some deduction from the 
salary in case of his inability to supply the pulpit. It was 
understood within a few weeks that Mr. Sawyer was ready to 
accept the offer ; and a call was issued for a church-meeting, 
to be held early in September, to take measures for his ordina- 
tion. But there were wise men among the people, upon whom 
the lessons of the past had not been lost. The church, im- 
mediately after the death of Mr. Clark, had chosen a standing 
committee of five, consisting of John Nichols, Capt. Elisha 
Flint, Dr. Amos Putnam, Lieut. Archelaus Putnam, and 
Dea. Asa Putnam ; to whom Dea. Edmund Putnam and 
Dr. Samuel Holten were soon joined ; and to whose care 
the interests of the church in the settlement of a pastor were 
in some manner intrusted. This committee now exerted 
itself with vigor and good judgment to guard against any 
rupture. They secured a stay in the proceedings for an im- 
mediate ordination, and an agreement by both parties in the 
church to submit the whole matter to a council, and to abide 
fully and heartily by its decision. A parish meeting was 
called to act in concurrence, when the business was suddenly 
and sadly ended by Mr. Sawyer's death. 

Deacon Asa Putnam made this minute upon the records of 
the church : — 

" After a few Days sickness Mr. Amos Sawyer Departed this Life ye 
Twenty first Day of Sept. 1769: and was Decently Buried ye 23, in the 
26th year of his age — We ought to Eye the hand of God in his Provn- 
dence in ye Removing this our Elect Pastour from us so soon after ye 
Death of our Late Minister ye Revd. Mr. Clark. And that we may be 
Deeply Humbled before God for the frowns of his Providence toward us, 
and that we may be Looking unto him for his Divine Presence and assist- 
ance t(^be with us in our Proceeding in Re-setling ye Gospel Ministre with 
us again, and that ye God of Peace would Direct our Steps for us so 
that we may walk in Love, Peace, and Unity with one another, and that 
the God of all Grace would in his own Due Time give us a Pastour after 
his own Heart to feed us with Knowledge and Understanding that itt may 
be for the Glory of his Great Name." 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 83 

An invitation was given to Mr. Joseph Currier, in the 
spring of 1 771, to take the vacant office. J^ut the salary 
was not satisfactory, nor the people wholly united ; and Mr. 
Currier answered in a short and sensible letter, declining to 
come. 

The pay given to the ministers employed at this time was 
usually one pound, six shillings, and eight pence, for a sabbath's 
preaching. They were provided for at the expense of the 
parish, by Sarah Clark, daughter of the late pastor. Two 
days of fasting were observed ; and the help of some of the 
neighboring ministers was engaged " to carry on the work of 
the day." On one. of these occasions Sarah Clark was paid 
two pounds, five shillings, and four pence ; and on another a 
sum only a little less, for entertaining these ministers. The 
number is not stated ; but it was usually two, or not more than 
three. Not belonging to the parish, doubtless, they did not 
consider themselves bound to fast ; and we may hope they 
carried on the work of the day at the meeting-house with a 
vigor corresponding to that which they must have exhibited 
in some other directions. 

Parish meetings were held during these years, upon an 
average, about once a month. They were very frequent, in- 
deed, through the whole century, and beyond it. Little dis- 
cretion was allowed to the parish officers, especially in any 
thing involving the expenditure of money. The standing com- 
mittee would have been very slow to have paid out a dollar 
without express warrant for doing it from a legal meeting of 
the inhabitants. They would have been much slower still in 
getting that dollar back again into their own pockets, if they 
had so paid it out. Parish meetings were called, therefore, 
upon slight occasions ; as to see if the people would have 
preaching on Thanksgiving Day, or to see if " a Law Book " 
might be bought ; there being in either case no other business. 
The labor of the parish clerks was great. They more than 
once applied for pay ; but they got slight " encouragement." 
Archelaus Dale makes note, on the day of the annual meet- 



84 HISTORY OF 

ing in March, 1773, " N.B. this Day I Rec'^ one Pisterene of 
Dr. Holten, and another of Mr. Benj. Russel jun. as a Gift for 
my last year's Service as P. Cler." He did his work well, and 
earned more money. 

They looked sharply, too, in these parish meetings, after all 
that their committees had done. Nothing is more common 
than an article in the warrant for " calling to account " some 
committee concerning its expenditures, and as to any " over- 
plush of money " in its hands. No parish officer, I venture 
to say, could ever have kept in peace one penny of any such 
"overplush." And the whole sum ever lost to the parish, by 
any peculations or misdirection, or " irregularity " of any de- 
scription whatsoever, on the part of those handling its money, 
could never, I am sure, have amounted to so much as Arche- 
laus Dale's two pistareens. 

We know a little of what our New England towns, with 
their open meetings for the settlement of all business, have 
done for us as a people. The old parishes were institutions 
of a like order. And in this one the roots of liberty must 
have spread, summer and winter, perennially. In all this mat- 
ter, if they may then perhaps have been over-careful, we are 
now throughout the country swiftly growing to be too care- 
less ; and the danger is all in the direction in which we are 
tending, and not in the other. • 



But now the " Due Time " that had been prayed for was at 
hand. Early in the autumn of 1772, Mr. Benjamin Wads- 
worth, who had preached for several weeks during the sum- 
mer, was called to a permanent settlement. The vote was 
unanimous in the church ; and although in the parish all did 
not at first concur, yet there was no active opposition ; and 
the agreement among the people shortly became general and 
substantially complete. The salary was to be ninety pounds, 
with one hundred and sixty pounds "settlement," and the 
use of the parsonage. The parsonage house and land had 
been rented in the years just before for between five and six 
pounds. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DAN VERS. 85 

An ordination was a great matter in those days ; and it 
might well be so here, where it occurred but twice in a cen- 
tury. The appointments made were elaborate. Enoch Put- 
nam, Samuel Holten, and Archelaus Putnam were chosen to 
provide entertainment for the council. It is a curious illus- 
tration of what has just been said of the responsibility of these 
parish officers, that, on this occasion, the committee being 
only authorized to provide for the council, a subsecjuent meet- 
ing was warned and hckl for the sole purpose of seeing if any 
entertainment might be made for " any of the Clergy or other 
Gentlemen " who would be likely to attend, though not mem- 
bers of the council. 

Eleven men — Richard Whittredge, jun., Aaron Putnam, 
Elisha Putnam, Archelaus Dale, Gideon Putnam, Joseph 
Brown, Jacob Goodale, James Prince, jun., John Preston, John 
Hutchinson, and John Very — were chosen a committee to 
take charge of the meeting-house. They were instructed to 
keep the deacons' seat, the three foremost front seats below, 
the two foremost side seats below, and the women's great 
pew, for the council to sit in ; to keep the two foremost seats 
in the men's front gallery for the members of the church ; to 
keep the women's front gallery for the singers ; and to brace 
the galleries well. They were to open the doors before the 
council came, and " to do their endeavor to Clear the way for 
the Council and Church to get to their Seats." They had 
charge also " to keep the Beems clear, and not suffer any Per- 
son to go up inside of the Roof." 

This may bring before us a vivid picture of the old meeting- 
house. It was the house of 1701, — too small for such a 
gathering, and with the beams and timbers of the roof open to 
view. There was much timber, withal, in that roof ; so that 
it was called " the Danvers wood-lot." Ascending fl-om the 
galleries, we may see the youths perched like fowls among 
these beams and braces ; and may hear, belike, — for of such 
things the report has come down to us, — their not always most 
fitting responses in the midst of the solemnities. Bating the 
misbehavior, wc may be allowed to hope that on this day 



86 HISTORY OF 

there was here and there a lad that eluded the whole body of 
the eleven, and kept his post aloft, hard by the rafters. 

Of the ordination sendees the clerk has left us a memoran- 
dum, which indicates his sense both of the importance of the 
occasion, and of propriety in the use of titles. 

" North Parish in Danvers, December ye 23d 1772. This day (Agree- 
able to a Vote of the Church in Said Parish at tlieir Meeting ye 19th of 
November last, with their Then Elect Pastor Mr Benja Wadsworth 
(gut now the Revd Mr. Benja Wadsworth, Pastor of said Church and 
Congregation in said Parish) being Present and Consenting thereto, with 
the Concurrence of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of said Parish 
at their Meeting the 4th Day of December Instant) was solemnised as a 
Day set apart foi^the Ordination of the said Mr. Wadsworth to the Pas- 
toral Charge of said Church and Congregation. The Revd Mr. Holt of 
the South Parish in said Danvers Opened the Solemnity with Prayer. 
The Revd Mr. Robbins of Milton preached.* The Revd ]\ir. Morril of 
Wilmington Prayed and Gave the Charge. The Revd Mr. Sawin of Wen- 
ham made the Conclusive Prayer, and the Revd Mr. Smith of Middleton 
Gave the Right Hand of Fellowship — Recorded by Arch. Dale, P. Cler." 

The day was imusually w^arm and pleasant for the season, so 
that the windows of the meeting-house were opened. There 
was a gathering of people from all the surrounding region. 
The houses of the inhabitants were opened for their entertain- 
ment. There are reports still current of the social festivities 
that were held in the different households.! 



* From Eph. ii. 17. 

t A company of people from Andover spent the night in a dance at the house 
of Mr. John Preston, where Mr. Charles Peabody now lives ; and one of the 
young men, climbing the well-pole, and being in more ways than one elated, 
crowed at the dawning of the day. In another place a man wore out a new pair 
of boots in the same manner upon the sanded floors, — from which the inferenc;(S 
is, that there was fraud in leather-work before our days. Yet more incredible is 
the story *of the cracked plastering still shown at the house of the present 
Dea. Putnam, beneath the chamber occupied by Mr. Wadsworth himself as a 
boarder ; which thing, as commonly explained, I refuse to believe, or further 
to narrate ; nor is it needful. The crack may well be there. To a judicial and 
philosophic mind it is but natural to observe that the young minister may have 
had classmates and other student friends in his room, with much not immovable 
weight on the floor. One of them probably fell with a heavy load of wood for 
the fire. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



87 



The people of the parish, at all events, were well satisfied 
with the proceedings of the day. Among the papers of Judge 
Holten, in the possession of Mrs. Philemon Putnam, there is a 
minute made by him with respect to the ceremonies, which 
ends with the statement that " The utmost Decency was pre- 
served through the whole of the Solemnity, and the Entertain- 
ment consequent was generous and elegant, reflecting great 
Honour upon the Parish." * 

It will be seen that the settlement of Mr. Wadsworth took 
place almost exactly one hundred years after the first organ- 
ization of Salem Village. The old name had been dropped from 
official use. The population had more than doubled. There 
were one hundred and fifty families within the parish. The 

* Judge Ilolten has left a memoraiulum of some of the items of expense for 
this reputable entertainment, which I transcril^e in part : — 



£ 



Pd Dr. Rust for wair 319 o 

" the Tin man 3 o o 

" Grant for wair 6 15 o 

" Whittemore for Do 2 o 10 

" Buxton for Sugr 7 10 o 

" for Malt _. o 7 6 

" for Rum o 8 o 

" at Salem wine sugi' 400 

" for Fowls 9 

" for 5 fowls wt 1 1| I 

" 4 Gees wt 34, Cross 3 

" one Flower Barrel » o 

" 3^'ceswt25 half 3 3 

" 2 Gees I 13 

" for Fowls o 10 

" for Turkeys 8 14 

" Cake I 10 

" about one Ton of Good 

Hay 4----25 o 

" I Barrel and one small Cask 115 

" Bu.xton 7 Days work 5 6 



I 10;^ 

9 A\ 

8 o 

I o 



£ s. d. 

Pd John Crowel 2 Days work 117 o 

" John Ilavward i Do 100 

" Benj Gifford one Days 

work I o o 

" for Bisket 45s 2 5 o 

" Phebie Pease o 9 o 

" Widw Hayward i 16 o 

" Prudence o n 3 

" About 2 Cord of wood. ..900 
" Grant for sum Coton (?)*. 300 
" For my own time and Trou- 
ble about a fortinet. . . .38 17 o 
" Journey to Gloucester. ... 6 5 o 
" Pork, Beef, Salt (?) and 

Rye and Ingun meal ...2017 o 
" Miss Clark for one day. .070 
" Syder about half a Barrel, o 15 o 

" Cheese 150 

" New England Rum 016 o 

" Miss Kelly for Butter. ... 3 12 o 
" Also to Sundry Persons. 105 13 65- 



The total expense, deducting for the value of what was left in hand, was 

;^2I2 I2S. 9>2d. 

This was in " old tenor,'' or " inflated currency," of which our fathers saw 
enough. 

The relative cheapness of " Syder " may be noticed, and also the small 
quantity of any into.xicating drink that was purchased. 

* I suppose it is meant for " some cotton." 



88 HISTORY OF 

assessor's list had intreasecl from 94 names in 168 1 (nine 
years after the organization) to 186 ; and this notwithstanding 
the ciitting-off of Middleton. 

Mr. Wadsworth was tlie son of a deacon in Milton, and was 
born July 18, 1750. He was a Christian from early years. He 
graduated with distinction at Harvard in 1769; taught for a 
year ; studied theology at Cambridge ; and, with Rev. Mr. Wil- 
liams of Weymouth, was licensed to preach in the spring of 
1 772 ; and was ordained here, as we have seen, a few months 
later, and while he was in his twenty-third year. 

He was received as a member of this church on the day of 
his ordination, by a letter from the church in Milton, which 
Nathanael Robbins the pastor had brought. He married 
Mary Hobson of Rowley ; and he was also married a second 
time, to Mary Carnes of Lynn, who survived him. Forty- 
four years after his settlement, he received from Harvard the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity. But I shall apply the title to 
him without waiting for that time ; since it is fixed in common 
use upon his name, and since the matter of the doctor must 
have been growing within him from the first. 



The mention of the setting-apart of seats for the singers 
upon the ordination day is the first notice which I have ob- 
served in the records of any special provision for that branch 
of public worship. The singing before was congregational, 
whatever else it may have been. The hymns, in the scarcity 
of books, were "deaconed," — that is, read line by line, .or by 
couplets, by the leader ; and all joined as they were able, and 
some beyond their ability. This custom .was continued by 
the church at the communion, after it had been given up in 
the usual sabbath service. Shortly after the ordination, if not 
from that time, there was a choir. For within a little more 
than a year, " at the desire of a number of the Inhabitants," 
they had a permanent seat assigned them in the front gallery. 
The movement was set afoot, no doubt, by the new minister, 
and the other young people with him. However, the choir 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 89 

were not to be allowed to have the first seat in the gallery, but 
were put back into the second and third seats, while a goodly 
and sober and well-behaved row of matrons — the wives of Tar- 
rant Putnam, Asa Prince, Eleazer Goodale, Joseph Dwinel, 
and Richard Whittredge — sat in the front seat before them. It 
ought not to have been thought that these spirited young 
singers could rest in such a position. They straightway asked 
for and obtained liberty " to Build up the second and third 
seats in the front gallery in Banisters upon their own Cost for 
their Convenience to sit in." 

There must be a new singing-book withal ; for things were 
no longer to be behindhand in this parish. And shortly, that 
is, early in January, 1775, it was voted that "Doctor Watses 
version of the Psalms with the three Books of hymns," should 
be used in the congregation. I suppose the old " Bay State " 
hymn-book had been in use before. 

A movement was started also, and a little earlier, to build a 
new meeting-house ; but it came to nothing. It was not 
strange ; for the shadow of the great War of Independence 
was beginning to fall upon them. There was likely to be 
other use for what money they might have to spare ; and 
scope was offered for all the energies of the young and the old. 



No town in the State, it is believed, entered into the 
Revolutionary struggle with more of heartiness and una- 
nimity than Danvers.. And none, in proportion to its popula- 
tion, furnished to the Continental army a larger number of 
brave and distinguished soldiers. 

Of this parish, besides Gen. Israel Putnam, who left the 
place when he was but a young man, there were : Gen. Moses 
Porter, in the artillery, distinguished at Bunker Hill and 
throughout the war. Col. Enoch Putnam, grandfather of hlrs. 
John Preston, and living until within the present century upon 
the place now owned by William A. Lander, Esq., not far 
from " Beaver Brook." Col. Jeremiah Page, grandfather of 
Dea. S. P. Fowler. Capt. Samuel Flint, of the bravest at Lex- 
ington and Bunker Hill, slain in battle during the campaign 



90 HISTORY OF 

against Burgoyne. Capt. Samuel Page (son of Jeremiah) ; 
Capt. Jeremiah Putnam, Capt. Asa Prince, at Bunker Hill 
and Ticonderoga; Lieut. Moses Prince, Lieut. Stephen Put- 
nam, Lieut. David Putnam, Ensign Tarrant Putnam, Dr. Amos 
Putnam, Levi Preston, Asa Tapley, and many others. 

The military titles attached to the names of these persons 
were gained and borne during the war (unless as to one or 
two of those last named) ; except that Gen. Porter remained 
in the army, and rose to the rank he finally held after the 
return of peace. 

Business with respect to the prosecution of the war was 
mainly transacted in the town-meetings. Yet matters of this 
kind came sometimes before the parish. A committee was 
appointed in one instance to procure the enlistment of soldiers 
at the parish expense. This must have been without legal 
right'; and the authority was soon withdrawn. Obligations, 
however, had been contracted, which the parish had afterwards 
some trouble in discharging. 

That business of this kind should ever have been brought 
forward in such a meeting, shows the extent to which, for a 
long period of years, the parish had been looked upon as almost 
identical with a town. Another instance of the same sort may 
be mentioned as occurring a little before, in 1772. There had 
been an agreement between the two parishes-, previous to 
their being set off from* Salem, to the effect that town-meet- 
ings should be held alternate years in each parish ; and this 
had been violated by the selectmen. The matter was forth- 
with taken up in a parish meeting, and a committee appointed 
to appeal to the General Court for a remedy, which they did 
successfully. It may also be noticed in the same connection, 
that in 1783 the parish voted in favor of a division of the 
town, and the organization of the northern portion by itself. 
But the movement was not followed up. 

More exactly in the line of parochial business were the 
measures taken for the relief of the poor in Boston, in the 
winter and spring of 1775. A committee was appointed, con- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 91 

sisting of Capt. John Putnam, Lieut. Enoch Putnam, Ensign 
Archelaus Dale, Capt. William Putnam, Francis Nurse, Capt. 
Nath. Pope, and Capt. Samuel Flint, to gather a contribution. 
Enoch Putnam was instructed to carry it to Boston, and de- 
liver it " to the Committee of Donations in the town of Boston, 
in the name of the North Parish in Danvers." He made re- 
port that he " delivered 8 pair of men's shoeg, 2 pair Boys', 
82 yards of Check, and 2 skeins of thread and one pair of 
moose-skin Breeches, also the sum of twenty six pounds 
fifteen shillings and four pence Lawful money to said com- 
mittee."* The names of the contributors, and the sums they 
gave, are recorded at length by the clerk. 



Soon after the close of the war the attention of the people 
was called again to the necessity for home improvements. 

The buildings of the parsonage, but not the land, had been 
given to the minister soon after his settlement ; and he had 
been able thus far to make use of them. But the house was 
becoming unsuitable for further occupancy ; and in 1784 the 
question arose of building a new one. The burdens of the 
war, however, were still felt to such a degree that this was not 
thought advisable. The matter was arranged by the parish 
making a gift to Dr. Wadsworth, of an acre of land, bordering 
upon the road, for a house-lot. And upon this lot, the bounds 
of which may now be traced, he built for himself, about twenty 
rods west of the old site, the spacious house which is still 
standing, and which is now owned by the heirs of the late 
Caleb Prentiss. He had received property wdth his wife, and 
was thus able to do it. 

The newer section of the parsonage house, that is, the build- 
ing put up as an addition in 1734, was sold, as I suppose, by 
Dr. Wadsworth, and was removed to the neighborhood of the 

* Mr. Hanson, in his history, gives the date of this contribution a year later, 
as nearly as can be told, and says it was " for the army besieging Boston." 
There was no army then besieging Boston. But the business of the place was 
suspended, as the war was about to break out ; and there was suffering among 
the patriot inhabitants. 



92 . HISTORY OF 

school-house in No. 6,* where it still stands, in a condition next 
to ruinous, and occupied by hay, squashes, old barrels, and pigs. 
It will thus be seen that this building, contrary to a report that 
has had some currency, was not in reality any part of the 
original parsonage, and was never occupied by Mr. Parris or any 
of his witches. It was not in existence until nearly forty years 
after he had left the place ; and it has no other flavor of witch- 
craft upon it than what it may have absorbed in standing for 
half a century in contact with the older and once infected 
building.f It has, however, interesting associations from its 
having been so long occupied by the ministers of the parish. 

The original parsonage was demolished by Dr. Wadsworth 
probably about the time he built his new house. There is a 
tradition, coming through Mr. Moses Prince, which, I think, 
may be depended upon, to the effect that certain materials 
from the old house were used in the 'construction of a low 
building or shed, running back to the rear from the Wadsworth 
house, and which is still standing. There are boards now in 
sight in this building which have upon them mouldings and 
other marks indicating that they once belonged to what was 
meant for good work. These boards, if any thing, are be- 
witched. By the favor of Mr. Henry Prentiss I have come 
into possession of one of these boards, some part of which I 
have here with me, and which will be laid up as a relic in the 
present parsonage, in the hope that there may never be any 
more wood in this parish of the same sort. J 

* The "District System" has lately been abolished by law (1S69) ; but the 
old designations are still in use for convenience. 

t Mr. Hanson has given, in his history, a view of the building now standing as 
of "a portion of the old Parris House." John W. Proctor also was misled in 
the same manner, though he speaks less confidently, and only as from report. 
But the measurements are conclusive. The present building corresponds to the 
dimensions of the addition of 1734, while it bears no likeness to the original 
house of i68i, or to any practicable section of it. The difference in height to 
the plates, for one item, is three feet. Uue inquiry would have shown, too, that 
the more trustworthy tradition does not identify the buildings ; while the fact 
of the removal of the present structure from the old site will readily account for 
the mistaken notion of some concerning it. 

X There are perhaps those who do not know the test for bewitched wood. It 




m ■§! -i] 'i i!' i^*|inf 



is=;*-^5Ti-x«si 



MEETINOHOUSE OF 1786. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN BANTERS. 93 

In 1785 if was resolved to biiilcl a new meetin^"-house ; and 
Dca. Asa Putnam, Phinehas Putnam, Aaron Putnam, Ezra 
Upton, Amos Putnam, Esq., Gilbert Tapley, Ezra Johnson, 
Col. Enoch Putnam, and Nathanael Pope were chosen a com- 
mittee to prepare a plan. A building committee was subse- 
quently appointed, consisting of Dea. Asa Putnam, Capt. 
Joseph Porter, Col. Enoch Putnam, Gideon Putnam, Stephen 
Putnam, Ezra Upton, and Phinehas Putnam. There was delay 
in beginning, as is usual. The timber was mostly furnished 
within the parish ; and as to money, it was not easy to 
agree how it should be raised. The building was erected in 
the summer and fall of 1786, and was used during the winter 
following, but was not finished till the spring of the next year.* 

This house of 1786 was 60 feet long by 46 feet wide, and 
with posts 27 feet in height. There was a steeple at the 
northern end, 14 feet square at the base, and, as Dr. Wads- 
worth says, " well-proportioned ; " and at the other end was a 
porch 1 2 feet square. The house was painted, as neither of 
the others probably had been. Whatever the original color 
may have been, upon its being re-painted, in 1803, the body of 
the house was made of a yellow stone color, with the " cornices, 
weather boards, window frames and sashes " white. The cost 
was about 1606 pounds ; or, according to Dr. Wadsworth, 
"about five thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars." He 
adds, concerning it, that it " was a neat piece of architecture, 
handsomely finished, and exhibiting a pleasing appearance." 
(See accompanying cut.) 

The pews were built under the direction of the parish, and 
were sold at auction ; which was the beginning here of the 
system of private ownership in pews, saving as certain indi- 

should be hung up with the top (as it grew) downward, in the north-eastern corner 
of a fireplace, from St. Michael's Day to Ash-Wednesday ; and then be laid, 
without approach of moisture, and with a form of words which I shall not tell to 
those that do not know it, upon a bed of red-hot alder-wood coals. If it does not 
take fire while one can run thirteen times around the house, turning to the left, 
and the heat being kept up,. it is bewitched. This wood which I have in keep- 
ing has never taken fire. 

* Certain posts in the barn built by Dr. Wadsworth at the rear of his house are 
supposed to have been in the old meeting-house of 1701, then torn down. 



94 



HISTORY OF 



viduals had before had liberty to build pews or seats for them- 
selves.* 



On the Floor. 
No. £. s. 

I. John Andrew iS 12 



d. 



Aaron Putnam 20 



3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7. 
8. 

9- 
10. 
II. 
12, 

13- 
14. 

15- 
16. 



* There were 63 pews on the floor, and 25 in the gallery. The following is an 
account of purchasers, and of the sums paid. This list, with those correspond- 
ing for the later meeting-houses, has been made out by George Tapley, tieasurer 
of the parish. 

It appears, however, that some of the pews thus bought were not paid for : so 
that these names do not indicate with exactness the actual ownership and occu- 
pation of the house. 

No, £. s. d. 

J]. John Walcott 18 18 o 

38. Saml. Page 21 18 o 

39. Symon Mudge 19 4 2 

40. Wm. Putnam 18 12 o 

41. Zadock Wilkins 21 12 o 

42. Asa Putnam 19 4 o 

43. Nathaniel Pope 15 6 o 

44. John Smith iS o o 

45. Andrew Nichols 17 14 o 

46. George Wiatt 15 o o 

47. Amos Tapley 21 12 o 

48. Eleazer Putnam 23 8 o 

49. Thomas Towne 1518 Q 

50. Joseph Porter 18 6 o 

51. John Hutchinson 17 14 o 

52. Joseph Dwiniel 16 10 o 

53. Timothy Fuller 19 10 o 

54. James Goodale 22 4 o 

55. Wm. Giffords iS 18 o 

56. Hennery Putnam 19 10 o 

57. Widw Mary Cross 23 8 o 

58. Gideon Putnam 23 14 o 

59. Not Sold. 

60. Benj'i Putnam 20 2 o 

61. Jesse Upton 20 14 o 

62. John Kettell . . . ; 20 2 o 

63. David Putnam 21 6 o 



Levi Preston 19 4 

Nathl. Pope 24 18 

Israel Putnam, 3d 19 10 

Capt. Wm. Towne 24 o 

Amos Buxton 16 10 

Allen Putnam • • • 15 o 

Joseph Porter 22 16 

Zerubabel Porter 23 2 

Archelaus Rea 24 6 

Israel Putnam 19 16 

Enoch Putnam 25 10 

Archelaus Putnam 29 4 

Jesse Upton 20 14 

Joseph Putnam 26 8 

18. Danl. Putnam 24 18 

Ebenezer Brown 24 6 

Benja. Russell 22 4 

Ezra Batchelder 23 2 

Wm. Whittredge 15 18 

Saml. White 16 4 

John Preston 20 14 

Jesse Upton 23 2 

26. Elijah Flint :...... 24 6 

27. Joseph Porter 20 2 

28. Wm. Whittridge 22 10 

29. James Prince 20 14 

30. Benja. Putnam, jun 15 18 

31. Gideon Batchelder 21 18 

Asa Tapley 18 6 

Matthew Putnam 23 2 

Phinehas Putnam 24 12 

Saml. Holten 24 



17 



.19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

23- 

24. 
25. 



32. 
33- 
34- 
35- 
36. 



18 
Stephen Putnam 24 18 



In the Gallery. 

1. John Sheldon 6 

2. Tim" Putnam 6 18 

3. George Wiatt 6 o 

4. Archel Dale 4 4 

5. Elisha Putnam 4 10 

6. Willm Goodale 5 8 

7. Aaron Putnam 4 16 

8. Nathan Cheever 6 o 



6 o 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



95 



The old bell of 1725 was hung upon this church ; but it was 
exchanged in 1802 for a new one, weighing 674 pounds, and 
costing (for the bell alone) $299.56. 



Joseph Verry, who was also parish collector the same year, 
rang this bell, and performed the other duties of sexton, for 
the sum of twelve dollars. There are upon the books many 
copies of the contracts entered into by the parish committee 
with the sexton. Job Holt held the office for a considerable 
term of years near the end of the last century. He received 
ordinarily six dollars, besides the use of the parish house and 
garden ; but these last were of small account. The duties 
of the sexton were to ring and toll the bell on days of public 
worship, and for some years also at nine in the evening of each 
day ; to sweep the meeting-house once every month, on the 
week before the sacrament ; to shovel the snow from the steps 
and the horse-blocks, and from the paths to the roads ; and 
to keep the yard and stables clean and in good order. There 
was no care of fires or lights. 

But the geese in those days, and for a long time, gave these 
sextons much work, and the people much annoyance. The 
sexton was required and expected to keep them diligently 
from the meeting-house. In this respect the duties of that 
post have become less laborious ; and for many years past the 
geese have kept away mostly from this meeting-house of 
themselves. 

At not far from this time, probably in 1794, was established 
the "Danvers Social Library." It was owned in shares by 



No. 



£. 



9. Joshua Dodge 4 4 

10. Ebenezr Goodale, Jim 6 iS 

11. Ebenezr Kenney 6 12 

12. Benja Nichols 4 10 

13. Amos Tapley 6 18 

14. John Kettell ' 4 10 

15. Andrew Nichols 5 2 

16. Timothy Fuller 6 6 

17. John Prince 4 16 

18. Jesse Upton 5 14 



No. £. s. d. 

19. Nathan Putnam 4 16 o 

20. Gilbord Tapley 6 12 o 

21. Philip Nurse. 4 10 o 

22. Israel Putnam 4 4 o 

23. Jethro Putnam 612 o 

24. Solomon Wilkins ^ 2 o 

25. Nathan Page 6 o o 



/i.4-'5 I- 



gS HISTORY OF 

different individuals, and the books were loaned to share- 
holders. It was kept at times at the house of Benj., Chase, at the 
place owned by the late Elijah Pope; and also, probably, at 
Judge Holten's.* This institution did not prove permanent ; 
hardly continuing above twenty years. A few of the books 
have been lately presented to the " Ministerial Library " of this 
church. So far as we may j udge by these, the people were not 
harmed by light or " sensational " reading from this library. 
They had, rather, " Mason on Self-Knowledge," John Newton's 
Hymns, Blair's Sermons, and the like. 

In 1 80 1 the old "Parish House," before referred to, and in 
which the sextons had usually lived, was sold and moved away. 
Judge Holten gave for it $15.50, and $2.75 for the stones 
under it and around the garden ; and Matthew Putnam paid 
$1.30 for the "parish well-crutch." I suppose this to have 
been the house that was moved upon the meeting-fiouse 
ground by John Britain seventy-five years before. The land 
was levelled, and the old well covered and finally filled up. 
The west side of the meeting-house was becoming of more 
account now, with the new roads made or contemplated. 

The present arrangement of horse-sheds dates from about 
this same time. There were no sheds before at the south of 
the meeting-house. ' The old sheds, or " Stalls," had stood 
upon the east side and quite near the meeting-house, with 
some scattered groups apparently toward the west and north. 
In 1803 additional land was purchased upon the east, of Major 
(afterward General) Ebenezer Goodale, by a company formed 
for the purpose. The old sheds were removed, and the land 
levelled ; and new sheds were erected, nearly as they now are, 
upon the east and south sides, forming a right angle at the 
south-east corner. The south row was set upon land belong- 
ing before to the parish, and given for that use in considera- 
tion of the enlargement of the open space at the east. The 
"horse-blocks," less needed' now with the increase of car- 

* The book-case belonging to this old social library is now in the south- 
western room of the basement of the meeting-house. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 97 

riages, and interfering with the new arrangements, were re- 
moved. They had stood, one towards the north, the other to 
the south-west, of the meeting-house. 



These improvements were scarcely completed when the par- 
ish was called upon to restore its meeting-house, suddenly de- 
stroyed by fire on the morning of the 24th of September, 1805. 
The minute by Jonathan Porter, jun., parish clerk, is as fol- 
lows : " Before the dawning of the day the meeting-house was 
discovered to be on fire, and was soon burnt to the ground in 
a short time. It was supposed to be set on fire by some in- 
cendiary ; and a man by the name of Holten Goodale was the 
suspected person, who was accordingly arrested the same even- 
ing, and, after examination the next day, was committed to 
prison. But, having his trial at the next session of the Su- 
preme Judicial Court that was holden at Salem, he appeared to 
be an insane person, and was therefore sentenced to receive 
no punishment but that of confinement as a lunatick." 

Dr. Wadsworth states that there were lost, of the sacra- 
mental furniture, eight silver cups of the value of twenty-five 
dollars each, " one of which was presented to the church by 
Judge Lindal, and the rest by particular members." * There 
were also other vessels of pewter ; and he adds, " Some 
silver, though not sufficient for one cup, was found among 
the ruins : but the full quantity of pewter remained, — a cir- 
cumstance which renders it highly probable that the house 
was robbed of most of the plate before it was set on 
fire." That the plate was stolen there can be no doubt. It 
was kept beneath the pulpit ; and most careful search was 
made to recover the materials, with only the partial success 
just mentioned. Other persons than the one arrested were 

* Judge Timothy Lindal had lived in the middle of the preceding century, 
at the foot of what is named for hiin " Lindal Hill," and in the house now oc- 
cupied by Richard Flint. He was often representative from Salem to the Gen- 
eral Court, and sometimes speaker of the House of Representatives. He was 
Justice of General Sessions and of Common Pleas. He died Oct. 25, 1760. 
See Felt's "Annals of Salem."' 



98 HISTORY OF 

concerned in the crime ; and his connection with it was of but 
small account. There were those upon whom suspicion fell 
violently and persistently ; but, as no decisive evidence could 
be brought forward, judicial proceedings were not attempted 
against them. And their names will not now be mentioned. 

The parish had been prospering, and was now strong in re- 
sources and in spirit. The standing committee — Amos Tap- 
ley, Asa Tapley, and Jonathan Porter, jun. — issued on the day 
of the fire a warrant for a meeting to be held on the 4th of 
October, at the house of " the widow Eunice Upton, inholder." 
The fire was on Tuesday, — the meeting on Friday of the 
following week. Israel Andrews was chosen moderator ; and 
the meeting was adjourned to the neighborhood schoolhouse, 
a quarter of a mile towards the west.* " After a pathetic and 
well adapted prayer by Rev. Mr. Wadsworth," it was voted 
to rebuild the meeting-house on the same spot. And on 
motion of Eleazer Putnam, Esq., a committee — consisting of 
John Fowler, Capt. Hezekiah Flint, Capt. Levi Preston, Amos 
Tapley, and Amos Pope — was appointed to report plans. It 
was subsequently determined that the building should be of 
brick, and should have " a Tower and Dome." The contractors 
were " Col. Ebenezer Goodale and others ; " and the superin- 
tending committee, John Fowler, Capt. Levi Preston, and 
Amos Tapley. 

The size was sixty-six feet by fifty-six, with a height to the 
eaves of twenty-eight feet. And the tower, according to Dr. 
Wadsworth, was " sixteen feet four inches square, having two 
wings, crowned with a cupola, and terminated with a vane 
ninety-six feet from the foundation." 

Unlike the three earlier houses, this, like the one now 

.standing, was set fronting toward the west or south-west, 

upon " the great road leading from Andover to Salem." The 

corner-stone was laid on the i6th of May, 1806 ; and the build- 

* The inn was where Deacon Hutchinson now lives. The schoolhouse then 
stood to the northward, at the foot of the hill, and across the road from the 
present site, and ujDon what is now a small, open, triangular space included 
between the branchings of the roads at that point. It was a one-story build- 
ing, smaller than the present schoolhouse. 




THE BKICK MEETING-HOUSE. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



99 



ing was ready for use late in the fall of the same year. The 
cost was not far from twelve thousand dollars. And the bill 
included a bell to replace the one that had been melted, cost- 
ing ^444.75, and weighing 1,116 pounds ; which is the bell 
now in use. There were no arrangements as yet for warming 
the building. Fifteen years later stoves were put in, which 
had been bought by subscription. 



The new edifice was thought to be a good one. And, as the 
use of such a material for a building of that kind was not 
common in country places, this " Brick Meet ing- House " be- 
came an object of distinction, and was a noted landmark for 
the region about it.* 

* There were seventy-six pews on the floor of the brick church, and tliirty 
in the gallery. The purchasers of pews, and prices paid, are as follows : — 



No. On the Floor. 

1 Ebenr Dale $146 00 

2 Hezekiah Flint 176 00 

3 Elijah Flint 1S2 00 

4 Joseph Putnam, 3CI 209 00 

5 James Putnam 172 00 

6 Saml. Fowler, jun 230 00 

7 Matthew Putnam 174 00 

8 Jos and Jesse Putnam 228 00 

9 Nathaniel Putnam 193 00 

10 Aaron Putnam 20S 00 

1 1 George Ingersoll 146 00 

12 Jonathan Shelden i lo oo 

13 Benja Russell, jun 129 00 

14 Geo. and Saml. Small 105 00 

15 Amos Buxton 60 oo 

16 Zadock Wilkins 63 00 

17 David Putnam 102 00 

18 Peter Cross 100 00 

19 Caleb Prince lo'i 00 

20 Samuel Towne 131 00 

21 Jos & Jona Porter, 3(1 169 00 

22 Eben Putnam iSi 00 

23 Caleb Oakes 228 00 

24 Peter Cross, jun 181 00 



29 .Levi Preston 185 00 

30 Benajah Collins, Esq 130 00 

31 Jesse Upton 175 00 

32 Benja Chase and Jos Flint 141 00 

33 Samuel Page 190 00 

34 Ezra Batchelder 18S 00 

35 Ebenezer Brown 128 00 

36 Amos Tapley 170 00 

37 Asa Tapley 152 00 

38 Jos- Hutchinson 98 00 

39 Not sold. 

40 " " 

41 Benja Putnam, jun $100 00 

42 Seth Putnam 1 50 00 

43 Amos Putnam, jun 150 00 

44 John and Jesse Hutchinson 136 00 

45 Simon Mudge 1 76 00 

46 John Gardner iSo 00 

47 Allen Nurse 144 00 

48 William Goodale 1S3 00 

49 Eleazer Putnam, Esq 139 00 

50 Samuel Plolten, Esq I75 00 

51 Israel Andrew 1S3 00 

52 Elijah and Amos Pope 186 00 

53 Andrew Nichols 173 00 



25 Mehitable Putnam 240 00 54 Stephen Putnam 169 00 

26 John Prowler 166 00 ] 55 Ezra and Moses Putnam. . i 00 

27 Israel and Danl. Putnam. . 213 00 56 John White i S3 00 

28 John Preston 185 00 57 Samuel Holtcn, Esq 14 1 00 



L.of C. 



lOO HISTORY OF 

The first sabbath of meeting in the new house was Novem- 
ber 23, 1806; and the dedication services were on the 
Thursday preceding. Dr. Wadswortli's sermon at the dedica- 
tion was printed, and has been already referred to. It will be 
of interest to make some quotations from it, both for the 
subject matter, and to show how it was handled. The open- 
ing is as follows : — 

" Christian Brethren and Friends, — Assembled for the religious dedi- 
cation of this new temple to Jehovah, what mingled emotions, what con- 
flicting passions, what mournful reflections and joyful congratulations, 
does the occasion inspire ! 

" Retrospection calls up the most painful sensibilities by reviving in our 
minds the gloomy morning of the 24th of September, 1805, when this 
very spot on which we worship exhibited a sacrilegious conflagration* 



58 Peter Putnam 

59 Not sold. 

60 Jonathan Walcut. 

61 Amos Flint 

62 Not sold. 

63 " " 

64 Nathan Smith 

65 Porter Putnam 

66 Not sold. 

67 John Joselyn 

68 Amos Mudge 

69 Abel N. and Levi Preston 

and Ebenr Berry 

70 Jona. Kettell, Geo. Osgood, 

and Jeremy Hutchinson . 

71 Samuel Page 

72 Moses Endicott 

73 John Endicott, jun 

74 Ebenezer Goodale 

75 Not sold. 

76 Gideon Putnam • . . . 



No. 



In the Gallery. 



Jasper Needham 

Asa Hutchinson 

Richard Butler 

Elijah Pope and Parley 

Goodale 

Israel and Danl. Putnam . . 
Not sold. 
* I omit the capitalizing, and 
things were more common then 



130 


GO 


109 


GO 


76 


00 


76 


00 


106 


00 


130 


GG 


143 


00 


153 


OG 


157 


00 


160 


GG 


194 


GO 


196 


00 


200 


GG 


133 


00 


I43 


OG 


42 


OG 


43 


GO 


50 


00 


43 


00 



Not sold. 



Andrew Nichols . , 

Jesse Putnam 

Zadock Wilkins. . . 
William Towne... 
Caleb Clarke, jun. 
Not sold. 



43 00 
48 00 
43 00 
43 00 
40 CO 



Job Goodale 

Amos Tapley and Sarah 

Upton 

John Hutchinson, jun 

John Fowler 

Timothy Fuller, jun 

Elijah Flint and Eler. 

Putnam 

Ebeni" Goodale and Israel 

Cheever 

Jesse Ilayward 

Bartho Demsey 



36 00 

51 00 

45 00 
59 00 
40 00 

42 00 

56 GO 

47 GO 
49 00 



Total, $11,436 GO 



for the most part the italicizing, of words, which 
than now. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. loi 

scarce!}^ paralleled in history. Roused from our slumbers at about four 
o'clock, by a transient passenger, with the alarm of fire, a dismal spec- 
tacle presented to view, — the hoicsc of God wrapped inflames. Conster- 
nation seized us. What majesty of desolation when a superb column of 
the raging element encircled and ascended the lofty steeple ! Who at that 
moment could credit the testimony of his own senses ? But, alas ! in one 
sad hour " our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised 
God," was reduced to ashes. Whose eye could witness the melancholy 
scene, and not melt to tears ? — whose heart, without being overwhelmed 
with grief ! What solemn sentiments crowded upon our minds, who were 
spectators ! what lessons of wisdom did it seal to our souls ! Impres- 
sions surely it could not but leave, which time can never erase. . . . 
The rising luminary of day, as if conscious of the indignity offered its 
Maker, lowering, frowned on the Atrocious deed ; and the circumambient 
clouds dissolved in tender sympathy.* Strangers walked in pensive 
silence over the dreary waste, and paid the affectionate tribute. At such 
wanton destruction humanity revolted ; while virtue, piety, and the friends 
of Emmanuel wept. Hell exulted, but Heaven pitied ; and Gabriel's lyre, 
struck a mournful string. 

" That was the memorable day of our Zion's distress. Every counten- 
ance was fallen, and every heart sad. Deprived of our house of worship, 
dark was the opening scene and discouraging the prospect. 

" During a tedious interval, rather exceeding one annual revolution, we 
assembled in a humble place of worship [the school-house] and, un- 
willing to hang our harps on the willows, there tuned the sacred song. 

" But, blessed be God ! the scene is happily changed. This day's smil- 
ing sun lights up joy in our hearts. ZioiCs ruins are repaired. From 



* This is not quite a fair specimen of Dr. Wadsworth's style ; but it shows 
fairly its point of weakness. The doctor loved long words and a majestically 
sounding sentence. This, too, was a peculiarity of that age. There were few 
writers or speakers of the period immediately following the RevoUuion that were 
not more or less inclined to a certain statcliness and sonorousness of language, 
that was liable to pass into turgidity. Any one familiar with the pamphlets and 
the speeches of that period could hardly fail to recognize one of them that he never 
had met with before, upon hearing a few sentences from it. It would be curious 
to trace the cause of this peculiarity. It had to do, no doubt, with the youth of 
the nation, and with the anniversary of our independence, and with the Bird of 
Freedom that was wont then to spread wide his wings above us. But there were 
other causes. This style is said not to be wholly lost in our day. It is under- 
stood, too, that young men in all ages may be able to reproduce it. But the 
doctor was old enough at this time to have lightened his page somewhat of those 
" circumambient " adjectives, and to have suffered the clouds themselves to weep, 
if they must do any thing, rather than " dissolve in sympathy." But, as I have 
said, this is not cpiite a fair sample. The doctor wrote best, as many other 
persons have done, when he did not think of writing well. 



I02 HISTORY OF 

the ashes of the former this spacious temple rose, a recent memo- 
rial of your zeal for religion. In devout acknowledgment we may say, 
'This is the Lord's doing ; and it is marvellous in our eyes.' 

I will also add some paragraphs containing very appropri- 
ate remarks upon the manner in which the people of the parish 
had conducted themselves in this emergency : — 

" The destruction of property could not but be severely felt ; but it was 
the divine displeasure, we trust, that most deeply affected our hearts. 
Awakened to serious attention, and indulging penitential reflections, we 
humbled ourselves " under the mighty hand of God," by fasting and 
prayer.* In the midst of judgment lie remembered mercy, heard our 
supplications, compassionated our afflicted state, cemented our union ; and 
inspired a noble resolution with one heart and one voice to rebuild, and 
on a scale worthy a wealthy and flourishing people, with more durable 
materials, and on a broader base. Instead of sinking into discourage- 
ment, or crumbling into parties, one accommodating spirit seemed to per- 
vade the whole. Calm and deliberate were your discussions on the 
subject ; and your deportment has been like a band of brothers in afflic- 
tion. The unanimity, regularity, and vigorous exertions which have 
marked your proceedings reflect honor on your Christian character. In 
all your decisions there has scarcely been a dissenting vote. This is act- 
ing worthy the descendants of a pious ancestry, and exhibiting an illus- 
trious pattern for posterity. Should controversies and animosities ever 
begin to kindle among them, let them call to mind their fathers' pacific 
virtues, feel the tender reproof they administer, blush for their degenerac}', 
and rouse to imitation. . . . 

^' To hearts glowing with holy ardor in so good a cause, how reviving 
and animating are sentiments like these ! Your pubHc spirit, your pious 
zeal, your united efforts, the world admire, the friends of religion applaud, 
ministering angels witness with pleasure, and God himself will graciously 
remunerate. Imagination is ready to paint the departed spirits of those 
who have been trained up here for glory, as granted the indulgence of the 
day, and mingling joys and praises ; while the great Adversary, and ene- 
mies to religion, experience an infernal disappointment. Pious posterity 
will rise up, and, while they enjoy the spiritual privileges of this house, 
revere their fathers' memory, and call their dust blessed. And you your- 
selves, when in heaven, should you obtain admission there, will reflect 
with sublime satisfaction that you rebuilt the house of God on earth, and 
left the sacred legacy to your children, to educate them in Christian faith 
and holiness for the same world of glory." 

* The 26th of December, after the fire, had been kept by the church as 
a special day of fasting. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. ^ 103 

These sentiments were assuredly befitting to the occasion. 
And for the " pacific virtues " of the men of that time, as they 
appeared throughout this proceeding, they were worthy of all 
the commendation which the pastor of the church bestowed 
upon them. 

i 

The parish received a welcome accession of strength at this 
time, by the incorporation with it of a number of families and 
estates, mostly from that part of the town now known as Dan- 
vers-Port. This district, not being included in the original 
limits of the village, had heretofore belonged with the Middle 
Precinct, or South Parish. A considerable number of the in- 
habitants, however, had worshipped here ; and some of them 
had been pew-owners in the meeting-house just destroyed. 
They had repeatedly endeavored to remove their connection 
from the South Parish ; but the people there had not consented, 
regarding themselves as no stronger in the matter of property 
than the North Parish, even while they retained that neigh- 
borhood. But, previous to 1805, the South Parish had given 
up the raising money by assessment upon estates, and had 
laid a tax instead upon the pews in its meeting-house. It had 
grown also to be abundantly strong. There was thus an op- 
portunity for the people of the Port to be brought here. Ac- 
cordingly, as Dr. Wadsworth has stated it, " ten respectable 
characters, with their families, . . . immediately after our 
meeting-house was consumed, voluntarily came forward, and 
generously offered to join us, and bear their proportion of the 
expenses which might ensue." And in the winter following, 
at the session of the General Court, they were transferred, 
with their estates, to this parish for so long a time as the act 
empowering the South Parish to tax its pews continued in 
force. This act of transfer bears date March 8, 1806, and is 
signed by Timothy Bigclow, Speaker of the House ; H. G. 
Otis, President of the Senate ; and Caleb Strong, Governor. 
The ten " respectable characters " were Samuel Page, John 
Endicott, Moses Endicott, Nathaniel Putnam, Samuel Fowler, 



I04 . HISTORY OF 

jun., Caleb Oakes, William Pindar, Jasper Needham, John 
Gardner, jun., and Amos Flint.* 

In these families the parish had, through that and the follow- 
ing generations, some of its most active and liberal supporters. 



Some reference may here properly be made to the system of 
roads in our town, which underwent great change at about 
this period.! 

The original road from Salem to Andover, crossing the 
brook at " Hadlock's Bridge," near where the carpet-factory 
now stands in Tapleyville, followed the line of Pine Street to 
the corner by the house of S. Walter Nourse ; thejice turning 
upon Hobart Street, — which is the " old meeting-house road," 
— it passed westerly to the Ingersoll corner, by the present 
meeting-house, and thence along the line of Center Street, past 
the house of Joel Kimball, and keeping what is now an almost 
vmtravelled road to the " Log Bridge " over the Ipswich River, 
nearl}^ half a mile west of the place now occupied by Charles 
Peabody. From this point it made away towards " Will's Hill " 
and Andover. I 

* The three men last named were from West Danvers (now West Peabody). 

t I had at first intended to trace somewhat fully the laying-out of these roads 
from early times; but after further meditation — not without some discernment 
of the real nature of the subject — I have determined that the men and women 
of the seventeenth century may have liberty in imagination, for any hinderance 
from me, to travel over the whole of this parish at their own pleasure ; which is 
pretty nearly what they did do, in fact. 

There is printed, with the annual " Statement of Accounts " of the town for 1S73, 
a report submitted by a committee for the " Re-Survey of Highways," consisting of 
Wm. Dodge, jun., Andrew Nichols, S. W. Spaulding, Andrew M. Putnam, and 
C. II. Gould, which contains much valuable information. But this report gives 
dates only, for the most part, of the laying-out of roads by the selectmen or the 
county commissioners in comparatively modern times, while it is often only some 
change or re-location of a much older road that is thus designated. As to 
these older or original paths of travel, the report is of little use ; and it gives, in 
fact, but a single date of the seventeenth century. 

It is to be hoped that Mr. Nichols, who has the materials well in hand, may 
give a fuller account of the whole matter ; and I wish him much comfort in the 
business. 

X There is uncertainty in the mind of Moses Prince as to the exact location of 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 105 

At a little distance beyond the present schoolliouse upon 
Center Street, and turning southward, is one of the most 
ancient roads, leading near to the house of Zephaniah Pope ; 
and thence, little used, and closed mostly to travel, passing by 
the house of Nathanael Pope to the place which has been 
owned from early times by the Goodell Family ; and thence 
bearing away originally to Reading and Medford Bridge and 
Boston. This is " the old Boston Path." It saved some cross- 
ing of ferries. And, though the " Ipswich Road " was the 
greater thoroughfare, yet travellers from Boston or the neigh- 
boring towns, according to the point they wished to reach, 
came often by this path, on their way to the northern settle- 
ments. 

The present road from the meeting-house to Tapleyville, by 
Center and Holten Streets, was opened not far from 1725 ; 
though it may have been used as a private way, in some part, 
before. 

The road across what is termed the "Judge's Hollow," to 
the Plain, being the easterly part of Holten Street, dates from 
1793. But Holten Street was rclaid in parts, straightened 
at what had been a great bend to the northward from Tapley- 
ville to the crossing of the brook in the hollow, widened, and 
greatly improved along its whole course, in 1837. Great im- 
provements have also been made along the causeway at the 
crossing of the brook within the last four or five years, and 
during the present year (1874). 

Collins Street was opened in 1S08; and there was at the 
same time a widening and straightening, with a general im- 
provement, of Center Street along its entire length. Judge 
Holten was active in securing these changes. The location of 
the road as it passes the meeting-house was materially altered 
at this time, its course having been before much nearer the 
house. 

The " Andover Turnpike Company " was chartered the same 
year, and the road was built not long after. It was no doubt in 

this road for some distance v,. -ond the " Log Bridge." But for my part, having 
seen it, if not beyond the original bounds of the parish, yet safely across the 
"Great River," I do not care where it went. 



I06 HISTORY OF 

part, this movement for another route from Salem and the 
South Parish toward Middleton and Andover, that stimulated 
the effort to put in better condition the line by the Center, in 
connection with the laying-out of Collins Street. 

Dayton Street was widened from near the house of Charles 
Peabody to Center Street in 1837, and extended to the Middle- 
ton Line in 1854. Of its earlier history I know nothing. The 
way must have been open long before ; though this was not 
among the early roads.* 

A charter, meanwhile, had been given in 1 803 for a turnpike 
leading from Newburyport to Boston, passing through Danvers 
about a mile west of the meeting-house. This road, now New- 
bury Street, — straight for the most part, saving as it bends 
upwards and downwards, — was built with great labor, and 
opened about 1806 or 1807. It was much used during the 
war of 1 8 1 2 in the transportation of military stores eastward. 
But it did not succeed, so far as was expected, in drawing the 
travel from the older routes nearer to the sea-shore, which, 
though longer, were less hilly, and had the advantage of pass- 
ing through the larger towns. The opening, at length, of 
lines of railroad caused it to be of little value, except for local 
traffic. 

The turnpike system, which had its use in its day, has been 
long since abandoned in Massachusetts ; and the roads so 
built are all, with possibly some rare local exceptions, open, 
without toll, to public use. 

Returning to the meeting-house, and passing eastward upon 
Hobart Street, we come, at the corner of Forest Street, to what 
was the old " Boxford Road." Tradition reports that it kept the 

* There was an early road, now closed, running from near the " Log Bridge " 
over the hill eastward, through the place lately owned by Peter Putnam, crossing 
the turnpike near the pine-trees, and thence to Beaver Bro»k and to Putnamville. 
(By " Beaver Brook," as designating a point of location, I mean the neighbor- 
hood of the railroad station of that name.) There was also an old road, though 
by no means one of the earliest, from a point farther north, — that is, from near 
the place now occupied by Joseph Towne, the old neighborhood of Dea. Edward 
Putnam and Thomas Putnam the clerk, — running south-easterly over the hill, 
past the house now occupied by William Putnam, to Dayton Street, 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 107 

line of an Indian trail leading toward the valley of the Merri- 
mack, at North Andover and Haverhill. It followed, in general, 
the course of what are now Forest and Nichols Streets, crossing 
the Newburyport Turnpike by the house now occupied by Ed- 
wai'd Wyatt ; passing the house of Henry Verry, whose fine 
♦maple might not then have served the traveller for a staff ; 
ascending the hill to the ncth-west by a way not yet quite closed 
up with brushwood, and leading thence across the Ipswich 
River to " R?bwley Village," or Boxford, or, bearing more to the 
right, to Topsfield. From the hill beyond the place of Henry 
Verry, a path led also westerly toward Middleton. 

Returning to Beaver Brook, and to the intersection of the 
road before described, from the " Log Bridge," we find a path 
leading in at the lane by the house of David M. Guilford, turning 
east by the houses of Jacob E. Spring and of Wm. A. Lander ; 
and, crossing thence to Putnamville, entering upon what is 
now Locust Street by the lane south of the house of I. H. 
Putnam ; and also by a branch, passing to Wenham, north of 
the Great Pond. Travel from the meeting-house to Wenham 
and the towns beyond might take either this or the " Ipswich 
Road." 

Returning thus again to the neighborhood of the meeting- 
house, at the intersection of the " Boxford Road " with the 
present Hobart Street, we may conclude that the line of the 
Boxford road was continued past the spot where Joseph Hutch- 
inson once lived, and across the fields to the neighborhood of 
" Hadlock's Bridge." A branch may also have led to the right, 
toward the house of Joseph Holten, at the place now owned by 
the family of the late Isaac Demsey, and thence south-westerly 
across the meadows.* 

* Far it be from me to speak with any confidence concerning the origin, direc- 
tion, or final destination of any of these roads — if there were any — passing to tlie 
rear of the present meeting-house. There are bounds to all human knowledge, 
though to the patience of a minister there be none. If any one wishes to know 
any thing more about these roads, he may go to Moses Prince or Wm. P. Upham, 
Esq., of Salem. He need not come to me. 

It should be remembered, however, that the greater part of these early roads 
were at first mere paths through the woods, from house to house. They might 



io8 HISTORY OF 

It will be seen that thfe first meeting-house, near the corner 
made by Hobart and Forest Streets, was upon a site more 
easily accessible from all directions than might now be 
thought. 

Proceeding again toward the eastern portion of the town, . 
we find from the earliest times the " Old Ipswich Road," 
already described in connection with the boundaries of Salem 
Village. This was a State or Colonial road, desigifed to facili- 
tate intercourse between the scattered settlements along the 
coast. It was laid out by the General Covirt in 1643, though 
doubtless the path had been used before. 

Sylvan Street, leading from Ash Street, by the mills of Otis 
F. Putnam, and past the Peabody Institute, to the Town- 
House, was opened in 1842 ; being, in effect, a straightening 
of the Ipswich Road. 

The road along High and Water Streets, from the Plain to 
Crane River at the Port, was opened in 1755, and re-located in 
1802. The continuation of this road from Crane River, by 
Water Street, to the North Bridge in Salem, was made in 
1761 ; this part of the line being also re-located in 1802. 
Previous to the opening of this Crane River route, the Ipswich 
Road was the only highway leading toward Salem ; and, 
indeed, the population in the neighborhood of the Plain, or be- 
tv/een the Plain and the Port, having need of any other, was 
but small. 

Liberty Street, with its bridge over Porter's River, dates from 
1803. 

Locust Street occupies, in general, the track of an old 
"Topsfield Road." It was re-located in 1807; the bounds be- 

be foot-paths, horse-paths, cart or sled paths. They could be laid out wherever 
a man could drive his sled, or ride or lead his horse. And as the most common 
mode of travel, where any beast was used, was upon horseback, these ways were 
often called "bridle-paths." Now, therefore, in any matter of dispute concern- 
ing an ancient road, there is nothing safer than to conclude that there was prob- 
ably once a bridle-path somewhere in that neighborhood. This is my belief in 
the present instance. 

Furthermore, across the most of these roads there were gates or bars in 
passing from field to field. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DA IV VERS. 109 

ginning from near where the flag-staff now stands, at the Plain, 
and in front of the post-office.* 

North Street, running north-west from Locust Street, pass- 
ing to the south of the house of Samuel Wallis, crossing the 
turnpike, and reaching away into Topsfield, is an old road, re- 
located in 1785. 

The road from the old Judge Lindall place upon Locust 
Street (now occupied by Richard Flint) to Beaver Brook, along 
the lines, in part, of Poplar and Maple Streets, was opened in 
1793. Travel that way had gone before by Hobart and Pine 
Streets, passing the corner at the place of S. Walter Nourse. 
The continuation of Maple Street from Beaver Brook, past 
the house of Dea. Wm. R. Putnam, to the intersection with 
Preston Street by the house of S. B. Swan, and making now 
the main line from the Plain to Middleton, was effected in 
181 3. The travel before had been by Nichols Street (the Box- 
ford Road) and Preston Street ; which latter is also an old 
road, though relaid in 181 1, as part of the "Dyson Road," 
running from Beverly to Middleton. 

Another old road through this neighborhood came from the 
region of the " Indian Bridge," on the main road now leading to 

* Mr. Nichols is of the opinion, that, until a comparatively recent period, there 
was no road along this part of what is now Maple Street and the main street of 
the Plain's Village. But in this opinion I do not quite concur ; holding, at least, 
to the great moral principle of the bridle-path, already laid down. Mr. Upham 
brings the early Topsfield Road down to meet the Ipswich Road, nearly as at 
present. And this seems most probable ; though of the alleged lack of refer- 
ence to such a road in deeds of land I can give, perhaps, no clear account. 

There is a mystery, also, hanging over the end of the "old meeting-house 
road " at the Plain. It seems difficult to find it. It may have been swallowed up 
in the gravel after crossing the brook, like an African river in the sands ; and, 
having thus come to such an untimely end, it may really have had no end at all. 
But this is not my belief. Mr. Upham holds that it kept the present line of Ho- 
bart Street to Maple Street, near to the station of the Newburyport Railroad. Mr. 
Prince concurs. The idea is a natural one. But Mr. Nichols dissents. He in- 
clines rather to think, that, after crossing the brook, the road may have borne 
more to the right, toward the old place of Nathanael Putnam (the "Judge Put- 
nam" place, now owned by Otis F. Putnam). I allow that it may have done 
both, — at least by a path. And, if my great healing principle»of a bridle-path 
is not in this case accepted, I do not see why there must not be a war. But, 
come what may, I shall have no part in it, — not even if the "old meeting-house 
road " should be devoured throughout its entire length. 



no HISTORY OF 

Middleton ; bore southward, past the old houses of Dea. Ed- 
ward and of Thomas Putnam ; thence skirting Hathorne Hill 
on the north, near the line of the Essex Railroad, it came down 
to the rear of the house of Dea. Wm. R. Putnam, crossed the 
present road, made up the avenue to the house now owned by 
John M. Putnam, and went over the meadow to the Boxford 
Road, or Forest Street, near by the house now owned by Dean 
Kimball* 

The sketch thus roughly drawn may, I hope, convey some 
idea of the earlier arrangement of our roads, and of the great 
changes and improvements that have been made upon them.f 



The first movements of the temperance reformation in our 
town date from the latter part of the ministry of Dr. Wads- 
worth. There had been a great increase of intemperance here 
and throughout the country, beginning with or soon after the 
war of the Revolution, through the enlarged production and use 
of distilled liquors. The evil reached a prodigious height during 
the first quarter or third of the present century. A society, the 
first in the country, was formed in this State in 1812, for the 
purpose of arresting the mischief. Dr. Wadsworth and Judge 
Holten were among the original members. An auxiliary society 
was formed in Dan vers the next year. Dr. Wadsworth delivered 
an address before this society in 181 5, which has been pre- 
served in print. 



* The part of this road last mentioned would be of use at the present time. 
Mr, Nichols tells me that nobody knows when, if ever, it was discontinued ; and 
I do not know. 

t I feel less confidence in the accuracy at every point of this account of the 
roads than I do with respect to most other parts of this history. The mistakes', 
however, which may appear are few in number compared with those that I might 
have committed had the subject been followed into more of detail. I have kept 
to myself, be Sure, the knowledge of much ignorance. Altogether, when one 
considers what journeying we have already had over the crooked ways the 
fathers made, he will not, I trust, think it unfit that we should proceed, without 
further delay, upon the temperance reformation. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. Ill 

It is well known that the temperance movement was not at 
first planted upon the basis of total abstinence from all intoxi- 
cating liquors not prescribed by a physician. The address of 
Dr. Wadsworth, accordingly, did not distinctly lay down this 
principle : yet it came but little short of it, and was such an 
address as the most thorough temperance man of the present 
day might give with little risk of being thought behind the age. 
He rebukes the prevailing " custom of treating friends and 
visitors with spirits," of furnishing it at funerals and other 
public occasions, and of supplying it to hired laborers. He 
says to the young, " Have the magnanimity to be singular 
when virtue requires it. Studiously avoid the snare of evil 
and vain company. And particularly guard against the use of 
spirituous liquors. Your blood circulates too freely, and your 
spirits flow too briskly, to require such stimulants. Those who 
never taste never crave ; and, where there is no appetite, ab- 
stinence is no mortification. As you value your virtue, your 
respectability, and your usefulness in the world, maintain your 
innocence." It is altogether an excellent address, and presents 
the arguments covering the whole subject with a fulness and 
force that leave little to be added. 



This period must not be passed without some reference, be- 
yond the occasional mention of his name, to Doctor or Judge 
Samuel Holten. All things considered, he was the most 
remarkable man the town has ever produced. He occupied 
very numerous and important public positions through a long 
period of years. He was more influential among his towns- 
men, if not throughout the neighborhood, in all public affairs, 
than any other man has ever been ; and he was worthy 
of his influence and his distinction. There ought to be pre- 
pared for popular use and instruction a fuller account of his 
life than could with propriety be furnished in this sketch of the 
parish history. I will give here only the outlines, drawn 
largely but not wholly from the discourse preached at his 
funeral by Dr. Wadsworth, Jan. 5, 18 16. 

Samuel Holten was born June 9, 1738. He was the son of 



112 HISTORY OF 

Samuel and Hannah Holten, and great-grandson of Joseph 
Holten, an early inhabitant of the village. His parents lived 
then in a house, not now standing, built by his grandfather 
Henry, and called " the Holten Hotel." It was situated at the 
south-west of the meeting-house, upon an old road, or at the 
least a path, near the line of what is now Prince Street, lead- 
ing from Center Street to the line of the Newburyport Railroad, 
and not far from where the house of Artemas Wilson now 
stands. 

It was purposed to send him to college ; and he spent four 
years at study in the family of Peter Clark. But at twelve 
his health failed, and this plan was given up. His hearing 
was permanently impaired, and he was never afterward strong. 
But, being after a time somewhat recovered, he went to study 
medicine with Dr. Jonathan Prince.* He made rapid progress ; 
and when he was eighteen years old. Dr. Prince told him he 
was qualified to set up for himself. He practised for a short 
time at Gloucester, and then returned to this place, where he 
continued to follow his profession — though very much inter- 
rupted after the first few years — until about the time of the 
breaking-out of the Revolutionary war, when he left it alto- 
gether. In his thirtieth year he was chosen representative to 
the General Court. He entered among the first, and with zeal 
and energy, into the preparations that began to be made for 
resistance to the encroachments of the British power. He 
was a member of the Provincial Convention of 1768, called, 
without authority of the royal government, by a Boston town- 
meeting.f He was also in the Provincial (State) " Congress " 

* Dr. Prince was a man of note in his profession, with a wida practice in this 
and in the neighboring towns. He lived upon the southern slope of Hathorne 
Hill, near Newbury Street, at a spot now marked by a cluster of pines. The 
house has been moved away, and is the one now occupied by John Hook, sen. 
Dr. Prince practised medicine for twenty-five or thirty years, until his death, 
which occurred in 1753. He was the father of Capt. Asa Prince of Revolution- 
ary memory. 

t Dr. Wadsworth says "the Provincial Convention which was in session 

when the British troops first landed in Boston." This is nearly true. The 

convention met on the 22d of September, adjourned on the 27th, I think ; and 

the regiments from Halifax came on the 2Sth. 

Judge Holten was chosen, through all these years, to represent the town 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 113 

of 1775 ; and was an active member of the general " Committee 
of Safety ; " and a major in the First Essex Regiment, though 
not a mihtary man. He was a member of the executive coun- 
cil under the provisional government ; and these affairs soon 
occupied all his time. 

" In 1777," says Dr. Wadsworth, "Judge Holten was one of 
the delegates from Massachusetts who assisted in framing the 
Confederation of the United States at Yorktown. The ensu- 
ing year he was for the first time chosen a delegate in the 
American Congress, and annexed his ratifying signature to 
that constitution of government. . . . And so high did he 
stand in the esteem of that august body, that they elected him 
President of Congress, and thus promoted him to the first seat 
of honor in his country." * He was five years in Congress 
under the Confederation, and two years under the Federal 
Constitution. Ill health alone prevented his continuing 
longer at the seat of the general government. He had 
been, meanwhile, five years a member of the State Senate, 
and twelve years in the Governor's Council. He had also, 
according to Dr. Wadsworth, been appointed, in 1776, one 
of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas for his native 

wherever it was thought that he was most needed. And it is a signal mark of tlie 
esteem in which he was held by his townsmen, that their choice of him was 
usually unanimous. 

* I give these sentences in Dr. Wadsworth's words, as being unable my- 
self to determine precisely what may be meant. The articles of confederation 
were framed by the "American Congress " itself, and the work was completed in 
November, 1777 ; while Judge Holten is said, and truly, to have been first chosen 
a member of Congress in 177S. His first appearance in that body was on 
Monday, June 22, of that year. His name is in the list of those ratifying the 
articles soon after ; but I think he did not assist in framing them. The "York- 
town " here referred to is the town of York in Pennsylvania. [See Journal of 
Continental Congress, Sept. 27, 1777.] 

That Judge Holten was at one time the jnesiding officer of the Continental 
Congress, is fixed in all the local histories and traditions, and I do not doubt the 
fact ; but it is nearly, and as I think quite certain, that he was never elected its 
"President." Jolm Hancock and Nathaniel Gorham were the only Massa- 
chusetts men holding that i)osition. ISut " chairmen " were occasionally chosen 
in the temporary absence of the president. This, I think, must have been the 
post which Judge Flolten at some time occuj)ied. Uut the date, in looking over 
the volumes of the Journal, which are almost without an index, I have not yet 
lighted on. 



114 HISTORY OF 

county, performing the duties of that office about thirty-two 
years, and presiding half that time. And " he was Justice of 
the Court of General Sessions of the Peace" — whatever that 
may have been — " thirty-five years, and Chief Justice of the 
same fifteen." 

In 1 796 he was appointed judge of probate for Essex County, 
which post he held until 181 5. And moreover, to fill up some- 
what his time, he was, upon occasion, selectman, town-clerk, 
and assessor ; twenty-four years town-treasurer ; and for nearly 
half a century treasurer of the parish. And furthermore, lest 
for lack of some business he should fall into evil habits, it was 
usual to appoint him as arbitrator in cases of difficulty, and to 
call upon him to settle disputes of all sorts. 

For this latter work he had a happy faculty. In the affairs 
of the parish, matters of weight or difficulty or delicacy were 
intrusted to committees of which he was usually a member ; 
and his hand appears in the result. It would be clear from 
the parish records, if nothing else were known of him, that a 
man of a comprehensive and liberal mind had laid hold upon 
these affairs of business. 

Dr. Wadsworth describes him as in fonii majestic, of grace- 
ful person, " his countenance pleasing, his manners easy and 
engaging, his talents popular, his disposition amiable and 
benevolent, and of good intellectual powers." He was not a 
brilliant man, and perhaps not a great man in ability for any 
one line of action ; but he was great in capacity for gen- 
eral accomplishment, in balance of mind, and in the easy and 
regular and effective working of all his faculties upon whatever 
service they might be employed. He was faithful, too, in 
every trust, — a man of unswerving integrity, and always to be 
relied upon. 

He was also a man of Christian principle. He had the in- 
struction of pious parents from childhood, and had been early 
impressed with serious things. It is a suggestive fact we 
learn of him, that when he was sc ^enteen years of age " he 
joined a religious society of young people, and was a zealous 
promoter of it." He made profession of his Christian faith, 
and became a member of this church, Feb. 4, 1759, — a little 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVER&. 115 

before he was twenty-one years old. He did not afterward 
forget his rehgion in the hurry of business. " Whether at 
home or abroad, he was a constant attendant upon public 
worship and ordinances, notwithstanding the disadvantage 
under which he labored of hearing but a part of the services." * 
In his last illness he observed to his pastor, that it was a 
happy circumstance that his mind was settled in religion be- 
fore he was called abroad in the world : otherwise, meeting 
with so many avocations, and mixing with such different com- 
panies, he should have been in danger of remaining unprinci- 
pled all his days. I record here his words in the hope, that, 
by this weighty testimony from a man of years and wisdom 
and honor, other young men of this town, of the present and 
in future time, may be led to seek with promptness for them- 
selves this best and only sufficient security for a life guarded 
from evil, and directed toward the welfare of mankind and the 
final approval of God. 

Judge Holten passed away from the world in the rest of 
faith, declaring of the great Christian atonement, " It is the 
foundation of all my hopes." 

Judge Holten's homestead, and his residence for the greater 
part of his life, was not upon the spot where he was born, 
but at the branching of the roads about a fourth of a mile 
below the meeting-house, toward the south. f " Holten Street " 
extends from it through Tapleyville, to the Plain. And to 
the left of the street, as it enters Tapleyville, is the " Holten 

* " But I should do injustice to the memory of Dr. Holten if I failed to bear 
testimony to the highest and noblest part of his character : I refer to his Chris- 
tian piety. He was a man who revered the word and the institutions of God. 
He was constant and devout in his attendance on divine worship in public and in 
private life. He was ever alive to the interests of 'pure and undefiled re- 
ligion,' cheerfully bearing a .large share in the support of all Christian institu- 
tions, and adorning the profession of his Saviour's name by a life which ex- 
hibited in beautiful consistency the Christian virtues and Christian graces, during 
the whole period of fifty-six years for which he was a member of the church." — 
Rev. Israel W. Putnam, at the Centennial Celebration, June 16, 1852. 

t This house, which before belonged in the Holten Family, was reconstructed 
and built in part anew either by Judge Holten in his younger life, or by his 
father, who removed with his family to this place in 1750. It is still standing, 



Ii6 HISTORY OF 

cemetery," which is a gift, in part, from Judge Holten to the 
neighborhood. 

The " Holten High School,"* established by the town in 

and is owned by Thomas Palmer. The spot is often called " The Adams 
Corner ; " having been long the residence of Israel Adams, whose wife was a 
granddaughter of Judge Holten. 

The late Mr. Philemon Putnam, whose gentlemanly qualities are well remem- 
bered among us, was a grandson of Judge Holten ; and the house in which he 
lived, and which is still occupied by his family, belonged, or the land about 
it, to Judge Holten's estate. 

There is also another grandson of Judge Holten, Capt. Hiram Putnam, now 
living at Syracuse, N.Y. 

* The first session of the Holten High School was held in the spring of 
1850, in a room temporarily provided for the purpose. The salary given to the 
principal was $750. 

The following is a list of the teachers of the High School : — 

Principals. 

John P. Marshall {now Professor in Tufts College), May, 1850, to November, 

1851. 
Ambrose P. S. Stewart (now Professor in College, 111.), January, 1852, to 

October, 1853. 
Nathaniel Hills (now Principal of High School in Lynn), December, 1853, 

to June, 1865. 
John C. Proctor (now Professor in Dartmouth College), August, 1865, ^'^ 

March, 1866. 
Rev. James Fletcher (now Principal of Lawrence Academy, Groton), April, 

1866, to March, 187 1. 
O. B. Grant, April, 1871, to May, 1872. 
M, O. Harrington, May. 1872, to November, 1873. 
A. W. Bacheler, December, 1873. 

Assistants. 

Clara S. Flint, during some part of, the years 1855 and 1856. 

Susan Smith, April, i860 to June, 1865. 

Mary J. Thayer, August, 1865, to March, 1867. 

L. A. Lord, April. 1867, one term. 

Clara H. Hapgood, August, 1867, to fall of 1868. 

(Miss Emma Fellows taught in place of Miss Hapgood, for part of the fall 

term of 1868.) 
Henrietta Learoyd, December, 1868, to March, 1869. 
Clara H. Mudge, May, 1869, to May, 1871. 
Lizzie S. Merrill, part of spring term, 187 1. 
Fanny H. Hatch, August, 187 1, to July, 1872. 
Sarah F. Richmond, August, 1872. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



117 



1850, presents in its name another and befitting memorial 
of this eminent man. The pupils in it, and all our youth, 
might study with profit the character and life of the person 
whose name it bears. 

There are traces, I think, still to be found of the influence 
of Judge Holten upon this community. It might be possible, 
perhaps, to prepare some such fuller account of the man, with 
incidents of his life, as should restore him to the popular 
memory, and prolong his power for good among us. It is due 
to him, if it may be done. It would be assuredly profitable 
to us. It is a high style of manhood, apt to be rare, and cer- 
tain to be always needed. 



In 1818 a sabbath school was organized in connection with 
this church. (See Appendix E.). 

Dea. Samuel Preston was the first superintendent. The 
following is a list of the first members of the school, as 
nearly as can now be ascertained : — 



Eben G. Berry, 
Thomas Flint, 
Elbridge Guilford, 
Elisha Hutchinson, 
Daniel E. Nourse, 
Zephaniah Pope, 
Moses Prince, 
Davitl Porter, 
Augustus Putnam, 
Stephen Putnam, 
William R. Putnam, 
Cornelius Roundy, 
William Walcott, 
Amos Cross, 
Geor<re Smith. 



Daniel Carleton, 
Benj. Flint, 
Elijah Hutchinson, 
Josiah Mudge, 
Jonathan Perry, 
Elijah Pope, -- 
Putnjlm Perley, 
William Preston, 
Edwin F. Putnam, 
Daniel F. Putnam, 
Andrew M. Putnam, 
Eben Swinerton, 
David Wilkins, 
Simeon Putnam, 
James Swinerton. 



Almira P. Batchelder, Maria Goodale, 



Mehitablc Berry, 
Hannah Cross, 
Hannah Dale, 
Eunice Evans, 



Eunice Hutchinson, 
Clarissa Morse, 
Catherine Mudge, 
Mary Balch, 



George Floyd, 
Kendall Flint, 
Benj. Hutchinson, 
Samuel P. Nourse, 
Jasper Pope, 
Amos Pratt, 
Joseph Porter, 
Ebenezer Putnam, 
Gustavus Putnam, 
Ahira H. Putnam, 
Francis P. Putnam, 
David Tapley, 
John Martin, 
Benjamin Moulton. 

Elizabeth Batchelder, 
Elizabeth Chesley, 
Betsey Dale, 
Mehitable Dwinell, 
Mary Flint, 



ii8 



HISTORY OF 



Sally Guilford, 
Augusta Jocelyn, 
Sally Morse, 
Polly Batchelder, 
Betsey Cross, 
Lydia Dale, 
Lavinia Evans, 
Rebecca Fowle, 
Clarissa Hutchinson, 
Mary Jocelyn, 
Sophia Moulton, 
Pamelia Nourse, 
Polly Nourse, 
Mary Phelps, 



Phebe Pope, 
Ruth F. Prince, 
Polly Putnam, 
Harriet Putnam, 
Sally Putnam, 
Dolly Smith, 
Mary Wilkins, 
Mary Sheldon. 
Ruthy Nourse, 
Elizabeth Phelps, 
Eleanor Plumer, 
Eunice Pope, 
Eunice Prince, . 
Emma Putnam, 



Mary Ann Putnam, 
Ruth Parker, 
Nancy Smith, 
Salina Wyatt. 
Abigail Phelps, 
Mary Perry, 
Charlotte Prince, 
Lydia Putnam, 
Catherine Putnam, 
Polly Putnam, 2d, 
Mary Roby, 
Narah Swinerton, 
Lucinda Wyatt. 



Of the persons thus named, a few may not perhaps have 
been members of the school until some months after its open- 
ing. 

The school thus established has been continued with great 
interest and profit to the present time. 



In .1819 a parisn meeting was called for what may appear 
to us a singular purpose, as expressed in the following article, 
which was the only one in the warrant : " To choose a mod- 
erator : — to see if it be the minds of the Inhabitants that the 
Rev. Doct. Wadsworth Read a Portion of the scripture at the 
opening of the meeting at such timesas he shall think proper." 
It wa'S voted that the doctor might do it, both on the sabbath 
and on " all other Publick Days as in his opinion shall be to 
the advantage and benefit of the hearers." 

The habit of the Puritans in this matter may not be under- 
stood by all at the present time. The Puritan studied the 
Bible as much, at the least, as we do. But he meant to keep 
clear of every thing that might savor of formalism, or that 
might ever lead to it, even in the use of the Bible. If the 
Bible were read in the ordinary sabbath service, and without 
a free commenting upon it, it might easily come to be done 
as a mere matter of routine, it was thought, without spirit or 
present purpose in it. And it might readily enter, along with 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 119 

the reading of set prayers, and the singing of appointed hymns, 
into the prescribed order of a heartless service. Of such 
mockery the Puritan would have nothing. So it became usual, 
in the early New England churches, to read the Bible only in 
connection with copious comments or explanations, " giving 
the sense." It was " dumb reading " where these were omitted. 
But this expository reading, taken with the great length of 
their sermons and their prayers, must doubtless have become 
tedious. And for this reason apparently, and because, too, 
the sermons themselves were largely scriptural, the reading 
came in many instances to be dispensed with altogether. How 
far this was done, is a matter with regard to which there is a 
difference of opinion among those that should be qualified to 
judge. My belief is, that, with the majority of our churches, 
the public reading of the Scriptures was dropped during some 
part of the last century. It has been gradually and universally 
restored with the prevalence of the better judgment, that a 
service of such propriety and of such clear and positive good 
should not be given up for the fear only of evils that are but 
distantly and doubtfully connected with it* 



And so the long and peaceful ministry of Dr. Wadsworth 
drew toward its close. His health had been remarkable ; and 
he had never, for more than four or five times, been unable to 
perform the ordinary duties of the sabbath, until near the end 
of March, 1825. At about that time began the illness which 
terminated with his death on the i8th of January in the fol- 
lowing year. His age was seventy-five years and nearly six 
months ; and he had been pastor of the church fifty-three 
years and twenty-six days. Of all the members of the church 
at the time of his settlement, two only remained, — Hannah 
Goodale and Lydia Putnam. They were of the young women 

* It is worthy of notice, that the English Puritans did not commit this inad- 
vertence. In the Directory for Public Worship, prepared by the Westminster 
Assembly, and afterward approved by the Parliaments both of England and 
Scotland, it is advised that a chapter should always be read from the Old Testa- 
ment and from the New. 



I20 HISTORY OF 

then for whom those gallery seats had been kept in the old 
meeting-house at the ordination ; or perhaps they sang that 
day in the choir. The funer^.! service was held five days 
later, on Monday of the next week ; and the sermon was 
preached by Rev. Samuel Dana, pastor of the First Church in 
Marblehead.* 

The following is the minute made by Eleazer Putnam, Esq., 
in the records of the church : — 

" Rev. Dr. Wad.sworth deceased on the iSth of January, A.D. 1826, 
after a severe illness of ten months. He retained his reason to the last 
moments of life. He has enjoyed a long and peaceful ministry amongst 
us. His funeral was attended the 23d inst. by a large concourse of 
people. The services were solemn, and very appropriate. Rev. Mr. 
Green addressed the Throne of Grace. Rev. Mr. Dana preached. Rev. 
Dr. Woods made the last prayer. Blessed are the dead wliich die in the 
Lord:' 

The burial of Dr. Wadsworth was in the cemetery which 
bears his name. This was an ancient burial-place, originally 
set apart to that purpose by the Putnam Family ; and though 
always heretofore belonging to private owners, yet much used 
by the public, and containing probably more of the graves of 
those of the earlier generations than any other in the town. 
This yard Dr. Wadsworth had purchased, during his sickness, 
of Jonathan Perry ; and had conveyed it to the parish, to 
whom it still belongs. 

Here also is the grave of Mary Hobson, the first wife of 
Dr. Wadsworth. And it may be interesting to notice, that 
near by is the monument which he had caused to be erected 
"In memory of Phebe Lewis, who died Jan. loth, 1823, aged 
49 years ; " and whom he styles "a bright example of integrity 
and fidelity," and "an ornament to the Christian profession." 
This Phebe Lewis was a colored woman, a daughter of Han- 



* From a printed copy of this discourse I have drawn some of these itemg. 
For many of the particulars making up the brief personal sketch which is to follow, 
I am indebted to Dr. Braman, concerning whom it is a matter of much regret, 
that he might not himself have prepared this account of his predecessor, not to 
say also this entire pubHcalion. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 121 

iiibal Lewis of Lynn. She had been brought up in the fam- 
ily of Dr. Wadsworth as a servant, and had been for sixteen 
years a member of this church. Each of the two pastors next 
preceding had had a corresponding member of his household ; 
and those earlier servants had been " slaves," but the yoke 
of bondage rested but lightly on them.* 

Dr. Wadsworth was a man of fine personal appearance, and 
with the bearing of a thorough gentleman of those days. He 
is described by the late Judge Samuel Putnam, as " of great 
bodily vigor, with limbs finely proportioned ; about five feet 
ten inches in height, with a handsome and florid counte- 
nance." t But there are those of yourselves with whom the 
figure of this former pastor is still familiar. " I can see him 
now," says Dea. Samuel Preston,| " precisely at the minute 

* Slaves in Massachusetts were never numerous. They could testify in the 
courts, serve in the militia, hold property, and be members of the churches. And 
none were ever bom to be slaves by law. See Palfrey's Ilislory of IVciv Eng- 
land, vol. ii. p. 30, note. 

t Samuel Putnam, son of Dea. Gideon Putnam, occupied the place now owned 
by Otis F. Putnam, upon Holten Street, just beyond where it passes, by a cause- 
way, through what is still known as " the Judge's Hollow." He was an eminent 
lawyer, and a solid man. For more than twenty-five years he w-as a judge of the 
Supreme Court of the State. He removed his residence from Danvers to Salem-; 
but he kept his pew and paid his tax here so long as Dr. Wadsworth lived, if not 
somewhat beyond that time, as a mark of his interest in the parish, and his 
respect for its pastor. 

X In the Salem Village Gazette, " published at the Fair of the First Church in 
Danvers, holden at Village Hall, Dec. S and 9, 1S69 : editors, Augustus Mudge 
and George Tapley," — vol. i. No. i. 

The pews in the house of 1786 were all square, so that many of the audience 
sat facing the aisle, or the .doors at the entrance. It was easy thus for the 
minister to notice persons in the congregation as he passed up the aisle 

The seats in these pews were hung with hinges, that they miglit be lifted up 
for convenience of standing in time of prayer. And Dea. Preston, in the same 
connection, goes on to say, "This plan was continued a long time in the 
brick house, even after Mr. Braman was settled. The seats made a great noise 
when they were all being let down together ; sometimes it was like a volley of 
musketry. At one time a Southern merchant, a Philadelphian, and a customer 
of mine, was passing the sabbath with me, and I invited him to go to church. 
It was in Mr. Braman's time ; and, as we were returning, he said, ' Well, you 
have reason to be iiroud of your minister, but what was that clapping for after 
the prayer?' I told him it was merely letting down the seats, and had no 
particular meaning. 'Ah! that's it,' said he: 'I thought it was meant for 
applause.'' " 



122 HISTORY OF 

appointed, with a dignified step passing up the broad aisle, 
dressed in surpHce and band, cocked hat in hand, the curls of 
his auburn wig gracefully waving over his shoulders ; slightly 
recognizing the powdered dignitaries, such as Judge Holten, 
Judge Collins, and others, as he passed ; ascending with an 
agile step the stairs of his high pulpit, and taking his seat 
under the huge canopy or sounding-board which hung sus- 
pended over his head." 

The doctor was formal and ceremonious, but courteous 
without exception to all, and warm and kindly, withal, at 
heart. He kept his position, as the manner of those times was 
with ministers, a little apart from his people. The children 
looked upon him with a kind of awe ; and the feeling extended 
to his family, and the house in which he lived. The lad who 
drove his cows to their pasture was not expected to enter the 
yard by the front way. He could keep persons at a distance 
from him, whenever he chose to do so, with wonderful civility 
and ease. He was reckoned by many to be reserved ; and he 
was so with many, but not with his intimate friends. In his 
intercourse with his brother ministers he was often facetious 
and witty ; which may be thought a singular circumstance. 
But even with his fellow ministers he was understood to be a 
person of dignity. By one of them, Mr. Huntington of Tops- 
field, it used to be said that " when any of the brethren called 
upon Dr. Wadsworth, they were civil enough," but when they 
came to his house " they threw in their saddles at the front 
door." The former part of this only should be believed. 

In the management of his worldly affairs the doctor was 
prudent and methodical. He had a faculty for business ; and 
he was shrewd at a bargain, sometimes to a degree beyond 
what was most suitable. He was skilled at a trade ; and my 
informant has added, in a sentence the peculiar humor of 
which will sufficiently reveal its origin, " I suppose he did not 
mean to be dishonest ; but men not used to making a bargain, 
in trading with him were liable to fail." But, if there was 
here some slight blemish, it need not be dwelt on. The doctor 
had occasion enough, in all the later years of his ministry, to 
be economical and prudent, with his salary of but three hun- 



- THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 123 

dred dollars, and some occasional gratuities. He often made 
representation that his support was inadequate ; and it may 
be that in this single particular, considering the change of 
times during the long period of his settlement, the parish had 
not been altogether just toward him. If, therefore, one of 
these parishioners, in dealing with his pastor, did now and 
then " fail," it may perhaps have been only by a delicate turn 
of retribution. 

Dr. Wadsworth, as a matter of course in those days, was 
upon the school-committee of the town ; and he had a habit 
in this connection, which I must unqualifiedly condemn, of 
expecting the other members of the board to carry him when 
he went away upon school-business. He was persistent, too, 
in this, as he was apt to be in other things. He called once 
at Major Flint's to get his horse for such an errand. It did 
not happen to be convenient for Mr. Flint to spare the animal. 
Whereupon the doctor pressed it the more earnestly, saying, 
" The more difficult and inconvenient it is for you to lend me 
the horsf, the more merit there will be in the act." 

Of Dr. Wadsworth's sermons we have had some taste already. 
And, though they may have been in style sometimes too far 
elaborate, ornate, and stately, yet they were well studied, clear, 
and instructive.* 



* The following is a list of Dr. Wadsworth's publications : — 

Sermon upon the Annual Thanksgiving in 1795 '•> ^"^^ in 1796. 

Eulogy upon Gen. Washington, Feb. 22, 1800. 

Sermon at the Dedication of the Brick Meeting-House, Nov. 20, 1806. 

Sermon before the Bible Society of Salem and Vicinity, April 19, 1S15. 

Sermon before the Society for " Suppressing Intemperance and other Vices," 
in the Brick Meeting-House, June 29, 18 15. 

Sermon at the Installation of Moses Dow at York, Me, 1815. 

Sermon at the Burial of Hon. Samuel Holten, Jan. 2, 1816. 

Sermon before the "Charitable Female Cent Society " of Danvers and Middle- 
ton, in the Brick Meeting-House, Nov. 7, 1S16. 

Sermon on Account of the Death of Bethiah Sheldon and Benjamin H. Flint, 
Nov. 19, 1820. 

Sermon at the Funeral of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, at Hamilton, 1823. 

Sermon at the Ordination of Josiah Babcock, Andover, N.H. 

A charge at the Ordination of Israel W. Putnam, March 15, 181 5. 

There is also a Charge at the Ordination of S. Gile ; and a Right Hand at the 
Ordination of D. Storey, of which I have no further knowledge. 



124 HISTORY OF 

He was conservative in all his tastes and habits, and did 
not enter readily into new methods. He introduced the ob- 
servance of the monthly concert near the end of his ministry, 
held in the afternoon of Monday ; but there were at that 
time no other prayer-meetings. The weekly meeting on 
Friday evening dates from the settlement of his successor. 
The service of public or social prayer by the brethren of the 
church had fallen, indeed, considerably into disuse at this 
period ; so that at the establishment of the sabbath school 
there was some difficulty in finding persons who were willing 
to offer the opening prayer. 

But, if Dr. Wadsworth had the weaknesses of a conservative 
temper, he had also its strength. He was steady and judicious 
in his work. He did little that ever needed to be undone, 
either by himself or by any one else. He was a lover also of 
peace, and had wisdom to maintain it. He was able in his 
own life to illustrate, in a good degree, the principles of the 
religion he taught. He exhibited remg.rkable patience and 
calmness in the midst of difficulties, and resignation jn times 
of trial. He had a steadiness of devotion and of trust, the 
power of which was not lost upon his people. And thus, if in 
its later years his ministry failed somewhat in general and 
marked popular effect, it did not lack in thoroughness and 
beauty of impression upon those that cherished its influences. 
It was long afterward to be noticed that among those whose 
lives had been moulded by his ministry, there was to be 
found a rare and admirable type of Christian character. 

It was during this pastorate that the great Unitarian divis- 
ion occurred in Massachusetts. Dr. Wadsworth remained 
distinctively and strongly upon the old orthodoxy, and yet 
without entering much into controversy respecting it. At 
the close of his ministry the new views had spread to a 
considerable extent in the parish, and there was some danger 
of division. The solid preaching and judicious management 
of Dr. Woods of Andover, who supplied the pulpit for a con- 
siderable time during the illness of Dr. Wadsworth, and who 
took some special interest in the welfare of this church, had a 
decided effect in warding off such a rupture. This is the 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 125. 

testimony of Dr. Braman. It ought to be added that both 
these things, the strong preaching and the wise management 
in this regard, were continued under the new pastor who soon 
succeeded to the vacant post. 

I have been further informed, by the same authority upon 
which rests the statement concerning Dr. Woods, that those 
persons themselves who had been influenced by the new be- 
liefs, and who were desirous of changes to be made in that 
direction, exhibited, for the most of them, on their part, a 
commendable spirit of moderation, and a readiness to yield 
for the sake of peace. And I am glad here to record this 
testimonial in their behalf. 



Milton Palmer Braman was the son of Rev. Isaac Braman 
and Hannah Palmer Braman of New Rowley, now George- 
town. He was born Aug. 6, 1 799 ; was graduated at Har- 
vard in 1 8 19, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1824. 

He had preached in the place before the death of Dr. Wads- 
worth ; and within five days after the funeral a warrant was 
issued for a parish meeting to consider the question of his set- 
tlement in the ministry. The meeting was held on Tuesday, 
Feb. 7, and the people were found to be of one mind in favor 
of the proposition ; and they offered a salary equal to about 
seven hundred dollars besides the use of the parsonage land. 

It is an interesting circumstance, indicating both the prompt- 
ness of the movement and the heartiness with which it was 
made, that upon the church record, immediately after the 
memorandum already quoted respecting the decease of Dr. 
Wadsworth, and as part apparently of the same entry, there 
are added the lines : " O that the Lord would give us thank- 
ful hearts for His goodness in sending us one of His servants 
whom we trust mil feed liis flock in this place with the sinsear 
milk of the word ; and has so far united our hearts in Chris- 
tian charity as to accept of him ; and that his heart is inclined 
to labor amongst us." 

The ordination took place on the 12th of April. The open- 



126 HISTORY OF 

ing prayer was offered by Rev. Israel W. Putnam of Ports- 
mouth.* The sermon was preached by the father of the pas- 

* Israel Warburton Putnam was the son of Eleazer and Sarah F. Putnam, and 
was born Nov. 24, 1786. His father, '"Squire Eleazer," as he was commonly 
called, — though with the name often shortened from this, — lived at the place now 
owned by S. B. Swan. He was a man of capacity and of note in the parish and 
the town. He was clerk of the church in the interval after the death of Dr. Wads- 
worth ; and he has left upon the book as fine specimens of the work of a record- 
ing officer as can readily be found. 

The young man, his son, having become fitted for college, not without the ex- 
ercise of vigor and the practice of economy, entered at Harvard in 1805. Be- 
coming involved there in the great " bread-and-butter rebellion," he removed to 
Dartmouth ; wresting his certificate of regular standing from the Harvard fac- 
ulty by force of law, and graduating with credit in 1809. He then entered upon 
the study of law at Salem, with his relative and friend Judge Samuel Putnam. 
But becoming decided in his hopes and purposes as a Christian, in connection 
with the ministrations of the elder Dr. Worcester, and through the Christian 
friendliness especially of Dr. R. D. Mussey, he afterward determined to become a 
preacher. Toward this conclusion his father helped him, when others, and the 
Andover professors among them, doubted. He graduated at Andover in 1814. 
In March of the next year he became pastor of the First Church in Portsmouth, 
N.H. The charge to the pastor, on this occasion, was given by Dr. Wadsvvorth, 
who was also moderator of the council. The spread of Unitarian sentiments in the 
parish had made the position one of great difficulty. Mr. Putnam discharged its 
duties with fidelity and with excellent judgment. After a successful ministry of 
twenty years, having a wish to promote the union of another church in Ports- 
mouth with his own, he resigned his pastorate. Shortly after, in October, 1835, 
he was installed at Middleborough in this State. Here he continued to the end 
of his life. But in 1865, having completed fifty years in the ministry, he desired 
to be relieved from its labors ; and a colleague was soon after settled. He died 
at Middleborough, in the fulness of age. May 3, 186S. 

He was a wise and good man. 

The sermon at his funeral was preached by Dr. Henry M. Dexter of Boston. 
And from a printed copy of this discourse, which has the merit, rare on such oc- 
casions, of setting forth little or nothing that is not true, and which is a model 
of its kind, I have gathered the main facts given in this note. The Congrega- 
tional Quarterly for October, 1868, contains also a somewhat fuller sketch by the 
same hand. But memories of Dr. Putnam are fresh also and fragrant in his 
native town. He took a lively interest in all that belonged to this place, and he 
had a special love for this ancient church. Had his life been prolonged to the 
present time, there could have been no one whose contributions would have 
added more of value to this occasion than his. 

I have myself the most j)leasing recollections of the venerable man, and could 
have wished to have known him more. 

Dr. Putnam had a sister, Miss Betsey F. Putnam, who was afflicted with deaf- 
ness for many years, but who maintained to a remarkable degree an intelligent 
and a genuinely Christian interest in all that went on around her. The later years 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 127 

tor. The consecrating prayer was by Rev. Mr. Briggs of 
Boxford ; the charge — to the pastor, as I suppose — by Rev. 
Mr. Walker of the South Parish ; the right hand of fellow- 
ship by Rev. Mr. Boardman of Boylston ; and the concluding- 
prayer by Rev. Mr. Perry of Bradford. 

Mr. Braman married, Nov. 15, 1826, Mary, daughter of John 
Parker of East Bradford, now Groveland. There being at 
this time no parsonage, they occupied part of the Adams house, 
at the corner below the meeting-house. 

Of the distinctively personal characteristics of the pastorate 
thus established, I shall not speak at length ; both because the 
topic has been with propriety as.>»igned to another, a son of 
the parish, and reared under Dr. Braman's ministry,* and 

of her life she spent at Middlcborough ; but she never omitted to provide for 
continuing her own contribution, in connection with this church, to the various 
benevolent objects that were presented. 



Esquire Eleazer Putnam being thus brought to mind with his family, I am 
moved to record an incident which I have heard related along with the mention 
of his name, though its connection with him may possibly be apocryphal. I 
have been unable of late to distinguish the man from whom it was received. 
Mr. Swan declines distinctly to acknowlege or indorse it ; or would refer it, per- 
haps, to the Deacon Eleazer of an earlier century. But, while Mr. Swan thus 
speaks, history cannot be so be so thwarted and turned from its ends. And, 
though the father of this story, — who is not herein, I trust, the father of aught 
but the truth, — has abandoned it, yet I cannot suffer it to jierish. 

'Squire Eleazer had, therefore, in his family, a negro man, to whom, when he 
was himself away, the care of matters about the place was left. Being one day 
from home, an unscrupulous hog he had broke from her pen, and was found of the 
negro in the vegetable garden. To get her out was not easy ; for the creature 
would drive no better than a hog. The patience of the man — who had never 
been made to write a history of this parish — was spent. He went hard 
after her with a club, and hit her upon the head. The blow fell, un- 
luckily, upon that spot whereat her vital principle as a hog was least 
defended ; and the usefulness of the beast in that capacity had there an instant 
end. The negro awaited with misgivings his master's return, and was at hand to 
tell him that the hog had been in the garden, he was plagued to get her out, she 
had eaten the cabbages and the squashes and the cucumbers. " Been in the 
garden !" cried the 'Squire, "eaten the cabbages ! Why didn't you /■/// her 7'^ 
" Massa," said the man, beginning to recover again, we may think, that air of 
hopefulness and conscious worth that belongs with his race, " I did, s/r/ " 

* See the remarks of Rev. Hiram B. Putnam, in the account of the afternoon 
exercises. 



128 HISTORY OF 

because with most of you the man himself is freshly in mind ; 
and since also these matters concerning him are not as yet, 
happily, among the subjects of history. His rare native en- 
dowments, his thorough scholarship, his keen and. abounding 
wit, his logical acumen, his power in the pulpit, and his ample 
furnishing for every ministerial work, — these, we trust, may 
not for yet many years of his honored life have place with the 
topics of the past. 

The " Half-way Covenant " was abolished by the churcli im- 
mediately after Dr. Braman's settlement. It had fallen some- 
what into disuse before tl^at time. But through the whole 
period, since its introduction during the ministry of Mr. 
Green, more than five hundred persons had " owned " this 
form of covenant. 

The efforts of Dr. Wadsworth and his associates had «ot 
freed the community from the evils of intemperance. The 
mischief, indeed, was widely spread and deeply seated 
throughout the land. There is no reason to think that this 
parish was peculiarly infected with the vice. On the con- 
trary, the people, taken as a whole, were in good repute for 
sobriety, according to the standards of that time ; but the 
neighborhood at the Centre was then an exception. At this 
particular locality, the intemperate men outnumbered the 
sober. Dr. Braman dealt faithfully with the evil. His pun- 
gent sermons on the subject are still remembered, along with 
the flashes of humor with which they were enlivened. It is 
related of him that, on one occasion, having referred to the 
popular notion that strong drinks were able to give coolness 
or warmth, as either might be needed, he observed that, if 
these liquors had indeed any such, power to afford heat, " it 
would be perpetual summer about this meeting-house." 

The great temperance reformation, which had begun 
earlier, but with some lack of decision and vigor, was now 
ready to press its work throughout New England with more 
of thoroughness and force. It was entered upon with energy 
in this place ; and its effects here were happy and permanent. 
For many years in the past, and to the present time, our com- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 129 

munity has been to a remarkable degree exempted from the 
ravages of this vice, with its allied mischiefs and miseries. 
But yet the evil is still such that constant watch must be kept 
upon it. 



Early in Dr. Braman's ministry, the method of raising 
money for parish expenses underwent a total change. From 
early times in Massachusetts, parishes had been territorial ; 
that is, all property lying within certain bounds had -been 
taxed for the support of preaching and for other parochial 
charges. The limits of the parish were usually the same 
with the town ; and the parish was thus, in fact, only the 
town acting in that particular capacity. This was different 
with us ; since here from the first organization of Salem Vil- 
lage in 1672, there had never been the same bounds for the 
town and the parish. But the parish was a territorial one not 
the less ; and persons and property within its limits were sub- 
ject to taxation to meet all charges connected with the sup- 
port of preaching. The preaching thus maintained had been 
in the Congregational order, rnough in many parishes in the 
later years by no means always " orthodox." 

In the earlier periods this had been no hardship. The peo- 
ple of the Colony were nearly all Congregationalists by choice. 
Congregationalists owned the land absolutely. They owned 
it by grant from the English crown ; by purchase, in part, 
from the Indians ; and by actual occupation. Their legal title 
to exclusive possession was complete. The moral right seemed 
to them not less clear. The improvements, the public works, 
the institutions of society that gave value to the soil, were at 
their hands and of their creation. It was not strange, there- 
fore, that the ecclesiastical system of the Colony should have 
been planted upon this foundation, and that it should have 
been upheld by laws laying contributions upon all the inhab- 
itants. For this latter feature, indeed, there was not, prob- 
ably, at that time a Christian people anywhere in the world 
that did not in like manner maintain by public law some form 
of religious worship and teaching. 
9 



I30 HISTORY OF 

With an enlarging population, and with the wider opening 
of the country on every side, the ideas of exclusive ownership 
were subjected to change. The practical working of the 
original parochial system became also a matter of grievance 
to an increasing number of individuals, who desired either to 
contribute to some other religious denomination or to none 
at all. 

Relief was granted to the former class first. For a hun- 
dred years before the point to which this narration has been 
brought, there had been some provisions by which a man 
might have his parish tax remitted, or directed rather toward 
the support of preaching in some other than a Congregational 
church. But such provisions were made at first with reluc- 
tance, and were hedged about with difficulties. They grew 
gradually more broad and generous, until, from a period near 
the end of the last century, there was no serious legal obstacle 
in the way of any person's paying his assessment wherever 
he chose.* 

Payment, however, in some direction might still be required. 
And it was not until the first third of the present century had 
passed, that the State let go altogether its purpose of furnish- 
ing some enforced support to the institutions of religion. 

In this parish the last rate, or tax, was laid in 1828. For a 
few years after that time money was raised by subscription. 
In 1838 an act of incorporation was obtained from the legis- 
lature ; and that which since the organization of the town had 
been known as the North Parish, — the old first territorial 
parish of Salem Village, — became the " First Religious So- 
ciety in Danvers." To this purely voluntary society, as \o 
others like it elsewhere, the name of "parish" is still often ap- 
plied, but with a wide departure from its original meaning. 

Under the new arrangement, money for current expenses 
has been raised with us mainly by a tax upon the pews in the 
meeting-house, but in part also by subscriptions. 

It is pleasant to note the change upon the parish records, 

* These statements would need some modification if the subject were to be 
treated in fulness. What I have said is, of necessity, but general. Thus qual- 
ified, it will not be found untrue. 



> THE FIRST PARISH IN DAN VERS. 131 

and the dropping out of the old famihar entry of the warrant 
issued to the collector, authorizing him, like the town collect- 
ors, in case of refusal or neglect to pay, to make "distraint 
upon the goods and chattels " of the delinquent ; or, in lack 
of these, " to take the body of such person or persons so re- 
fusing Of neglecting to pay, and him or them commit to the 
common gaol in the county, there to remain until he or they 
shall pay the same, or such part thereof as shall not be abated." 
The concluding clause was terrible chiefly in its sound ; but 
it was out of its place, nevertheless, in all such records. 

While the matter is thus before us, it ought to be said, that 
this maintenance by the State of religious worship did not 
rest in theory upon the benefits of a purely personal or spir- 
itual nature, to be thus secured. A public advantage rather 
was aimed at. Nor was the end chiefly the strengthening of 
the church, as an institution, for its own sake. It was for the 
use of the church, and of religious teaching, towards the State 
itself. The State undertook to strengthen the church, that 
the church in turn might uphold the State. Thus understood, 
the purpose was legitimate, and was within the proper sphere 
of political action. The error withal was not in the belief 
that the influences of religion are essential to the well-being 
of society, — a conviction that we hold not less stoutly than 
our fathers ; but in the supposition that these influences can be 
made more effective by the effort of society in a compulsory 
manner to strengthen them. The State has need of the 
church ; but it cannot in this way help the church to be any 
more useful to itself. Religion has its own sources of power, 
which are not of this world. It is most strong when it draws 
nigh to them. It suffers loss if it turns to other reliances. 
It is apt thus to be enfeebled, and not invigorated by any 
union with the civil power. 

The trial was made in New England under the most favor- 
able circumstances ; and a careful review of it will confirm 
this conclusion. Religion was wonderfully powerful in this 
land in the earlier periods. But there are no evidences that 
the attempted interference of the secular authority in its be- 
half ever added to its real efficiency. On the other hand, 



132 HISTORY OF 

there are the most certain marks of injury clone to the cause 
of religion, when the fruits of that poHcy had time to ripen. 
Under the Providence of God we owe our hberty, and all our 
public blessings, largely to our religion, so far free ; but 
to this blemish upon it, we owe nothing, except it be the 
thankfulness with which we may contemplate its removal. 

For our own denomination, it may be added, that its strength 
is in its freedom ; and that it suffered a peculiar injury through 
this effort to give it special assistance. Even in a pecuniary 
point of view alone, and as to " orthodox " Congregationalism, 
when we remember how many of these churches, early in 
the present century, lost their share in their parish meeting- 
houses, and parsonages, and were despoiled even of their own 
church records and sacramental furniture, through this rela- 
tion into which they had been brought with the towns, we 
may conclude that such " assistance " did not prove highly 
profitable. 

In this particular locality, and from the history of our own 
parish, it is certain that there were many vexations and an- 
noyances arising from the system of general taxation for the 
support of preaching. And the business has been conducted 
with much more of ease and comfort since that system has 
passed away. 



The year 1831 is memorable among us for a great revival 
of religion, the most extensive and powerful that the place 
has ever known. A preaching service was held for four days 
consecutively. The whole community was moved, and yet 
not in noisy excitement. The thoughts of men were turned 
in a serious and becoming manner to the care of their souls. 
The Spirit of God was with them. Numbers were led to 
enter upon a new life of Christian love and obedience. The 
work with many was thorough ; and its results have been 
happy and lasting. 

There were added to the church, in the year 1831, twenty- 
nine persons, most of them by profession ; and in the next 
year, eighty-three persons. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 133 

Previous to these additions the church had been much re- 
duced in membership. In 1828 there were reported, of male 
members, 25 ; of females, 75. A total of 100. Members 
living out of the town were of course included ; and as the 
counting of such is often uncertain, and as these have some 
appearance of being " round numbers," it is likely that the 
actual membership may have fallen a little short of one hun- 
dred. 

In 1833 the number had risen to 195. Sixty years before, 
at the settlement of Dr. Wadsworth, the figures had been, of 
male members, 45 ; of females, 90 ; making a total of 135. 



The business affairs of the parish were conducted at this 
time with a vigor that corresponded with, and no doubt in 
part resulted from, the enlargement and quickening of the 
church. After the death of Dr. Wadsworth, who lived in his 
own house, the want of a parsonage had again been felt. The 
old " ministry land " remained in possession of the parish, 
but with no buildings upon it. 

There was a dwelling directly across the road, north-west 
from the meeting-house, which, for more reasons than one, it 
was desirable now to obtain. This was upon the place 
formerly owned by Dea. Nathanael Ingersoll. The property 
had passed through many hands. The deacon himself held it 
by a title covering only his own life, and by which he was not 
empowered to transmit it to any except his children. He had 
no children, save that he adopted into his family Benjamin 
Hutchinson, a son of Joseph Hutchinson, his neighbor on the 
east. As he drew near to the close of his long life, he ap- 
pears to have forgotten the peculiarity of the title ; or, perhaps, 
he may never have fully understood it ; or he may have sup- 
posed that the formality of adoption met the conditions of 
the case ; and he undertook to convey the real estate to his 
adopted son. But this failed. The death of Dea. Ingersoll 
occurred not far from the beginning of the year 1719. The 
heirs at law, from the line of a former generation, took steps 



134 HISTORY OF 

to recover the property. The lands which Dea. Ingersoll had 
given for the meeting-house, and the training-field, with others, 
were involved. These titles were finally settled. And the 
main property, including the homestead, passed, in 1733, by 
sundry conveyances, into the family of Samuel Ingersoll of 
Marblehead. The husbands of his daughters, as I suppose, 
Eben. Hawkes, and Samuel Pope, of Marblehead, conveyed it 
three years after to " Joseph Cross, of Salem, mariner." From 
him it passed to his son, Michael, who lived upon it ; and 
who transferred it by deed, in 1783, just before his death, to 
Nathaniel Pope.* 

From the heirs of Mr. Pope it passed, in 1802, into pos- 
session of Ebenezer Goodale, commonly known in later years 
by his title of " General." Gen. Goodale occupied the place 
for about thirty years. He was a man of considerable capacity, 
and inclined to enter extensivel5^ upon business of various sorts. 
He made his mark in the neighborhood ; and not for good. 
His house, was in some manner a tavern, and, of course, a 
place for the sale of strong drink, and of resort for men that 
liked it. And the general himself became one of his own 
customers, and he was a leader in many ways among the rest.f 
He carried on the business of a wholesale butcher. He had a 
group of slaughter houses, not sightly Jior savory, upon 
"Watch-House Hill;" and herds of sheep, hogs, and men, 
with habits commendable in the order in which they have 
been named, swarmed about the premises. As this establish- 
ment was so near to the meeting-house, and as its occupations 
were not varied for the better on the sabbath days, it became 
a source of great annoyance to the people of the parish. The 
habits of the patriarch himself did not improve with years ; nor 
did his business prosper. He mortgaged the place to Elizabeth 

* Grandfather of the present Nathaniel Pope ; also of Jasper and Zephaniah, 
and of the late Elijah Pope. 

t It is told of him, that at one period of his life, having occasion to reckon with 
the store-keeper, of whom he had his supplies for family and personal use, he 
objected to the account as too large, and asked for the reading of the items. 
The account began • " Rum, rum, tobacco, rum, tobacco, rum, rum, tobacco, 
rum." The general said they need read no further, — he guessed the bill was 
right. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 135 

Williams of Salem ; and, as he proved unable to retain it, she 
took possession. The opportunity had been waited for, and 
the property passed at once, by deed of date May 26, 1832, to 
" Moses Putnam, Samuel Preston, Gilbert Tapley,* and their 
associates, for a parsonage." 

The old house of Dea. Ingcrsoll was standing in 1733. A 
new one, and that which is still upon the spot, was built prob- 
ably within twenty yeai's from that time. This second house, 
however, underwent extensive repairs and alterations upon 

* This name first appears in the parish records about the middle of the last 
certtury. The spelling of the first name was often "Gilbord," with other like 
variations. A Gilbert Tapley, "house-wright," then of Salem, was married 
June 17, 1747, to Phebe Putnam. In August of the same year he bought for 
;i^2,oio (old tenor), sixty-seven acres of land, bounded by the Ipswich River, by 
lands of Amos Buxton, Joshua Swinerton, Ambrose Hutchinson, Wm. Small, 
and Ebenezer Goodale, and by a way, part of which is now " Buxton's Lane." 
The house, which was the original seat of the Tapley family in Danvers, stood 
near the Andover Turnpike, a little distance to the south-east from where Wm. 
Goodale now lives. 

There vi^as a Gilbert Tapley in .Salem, a hundred years before, with Gilberts 
plentifully along the line between. But Mr. George Tapley, who has furnished 
me with this account, has not yet traced distinctly the succession. lis is still 
engaged upon the matter ; and I cheerfully welcome him to some share in these 
delightful employments. 

From the pair whose marriage has been given, have descended all of the 
name now living in this town, with many that have gone abroad, and with many 
others, also, of other names. 

From Amos, the first of their eight children, wc have the families of the late 
Aaron and Rufus Tapley ; and also a daughter, Mrs. Betsey Nichols, still living, 
the mother of Capt. Amos Pratt. 

From Asa, the sixth child, there are of the Tapley name, now living in the 
])arish, and heads of families. Col. Gilbert, with his son, Gilbert Augustus ; the 
sons of the late Daniel, George, and Charles, with Herbert S., son of George ; 
and Col. Jesse. And of this branch of the family there are many in the parish 
now bearing other names. 

The memory of the present Gilbert Tapley has brought down to us an 
incident from the life of his grandfather, the original Danvers Gilbert, illustra- 
tive also of those times, which I tell as it has been told to me. When he 
was but four years old, he was standing by his grandfather's knee, and the old 
man said to him, " Gebbard, I will show you how to make a cider-tap. First, 
make it four square, and tapered to a point ; then cut off the corners, and make 
it eight square ; and then any fool can round it off and make a cider-tap." The 
value of the direction for the matter in hand, no one may gainsay ; but it could 
hardly have had any special significance in the childhood of one who was to be 
so stout an enforcer of the " prohibitory law." 



136 HISTORY OF 

its coming into possession of the parish. An addition was 
made along the whole length at the rear, by which the thick- 
ness or width of the main building was increased. Thus re- 
modelled and improved, it was first occupied by Dr. Braman on 
the 8th of January, 1833 ; and it has furnished a comfortable 
home for the family of the parish minister to the present time. 

Of the several pieces of land belonging to this Ingersoll 
estate, at the time of its purchase, there was permanently 
retained by the parish only that portion to the north from 
the meeting-house upon which the buildings stood, and which 
was bounded by Center, Hobart, and Forest Streets, and by 
the old ministry land. 

The money for this purchase was raised by contribution ; and 
the chief contributors were Mrs. Mehitable Oakes, widow of 
Caleb Oakes, and her daughters.* These persons received the 
thanks of the parish for their " very liberal donations." 

At about the same time Moses Putnam, Gilbert Tapley, and 
Samuel Preston also bought what was called the " Rea lot," 
lying at the east of the meeting-house, for the purpose of con- 
firming a doubtful title to the land purchased thirty years be- 
fore for the horse-sheds. The field passed into the hands of 
the parish, but was soon disposed of. 

In 1832 there was formed the Ladies' Benevolent Circle, 
originally styled " The North Danvers Female Benevolent 
Society," of which Mrs. Braman was the first president, and 
Miss Susan Putnam the secretary. The primary object of 
this society at first was, the relief of the poor by aid in the 
furnishing of clothing. The purpose of charity in some form 
towards the poor, it has never forgotten ; but it has turned its 
helpful hand also toward many other good works, both at home 
and abroad. Scarcely any considerable parish enterprise has 
been carried on without its assistance in some form. Its 
yearly boxes or barrels, well filled with clothing, and other 
valuable articles for domestic use, have carried gladness and 
comfort into many households of our home missionaries, in 

* The daughters were Nancy and Mehitable. Of these, the last-named be- 
came the wife of Mr. John S. Williams of Salem. She was a member of this 
church, and was dismissed by letter to the Crombie-street Church in Salem. 



THE FIRST PARISH OF DANVERS. 137 

Massachusetts and at the West. And the letters that have 
come to us in reply have been read among ourselves not sel- 
dom with tears. 

The meetings also of this Ladies' Circle, whether held with 
the different members, or, as often of late years, in the vestry 
of the meeting-house, have furnished the occasions for much 
pleasant social intercourse between the people of the parish.* 

The want of a suitable place for prayer-meetings, and for 
other similar purposes, began to be felt as such meetings be- 
came more frequent. The meeting-house had but one room ; 
and that much too large for these uses. In 1834 arrange- 
ments were made for building " a vestry or chapel." An as- 
sociation was formed of persons who took such number of 
shares in the work as they pleased, at five dollars each. The 
Ladies' Society took ten shares ; the choir of singers, eight. 
The building was to be used for religious meetings ; for meet- 
ings of the sabbath school, and of all benevolent societies ; 
for singing schools, and meetings of the choir, and for "a high 
school." This " North Danvers Chapel Society" was organ- 
ized by the choice of Samuel Preston, Gilbert Tapley, and 
Matthew Putnam, as standing committee ; with Samuel Preston 
for secretary and treasurer. Samuel Preston, Jesse Putnam, and 
John Preston were chosen a building committee. The chapel 
was put up the next year upon a site where traces may still be 

* There had been an earlier organization somewhat similar, dating from 
1816, and styled "The Danvers and Middleton Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge and Piety." I am not able to give a very exact account of this 
society, though some of its records are still in existence. It was before this 
society, undoubtedly, that Dr. Wadsworth preached the sermon, now extant, of 
Nov. 7, I816 : on the title page of which publication it is called the " Charitable 
Female Cent Society in Danvers and Middleton." 

Fifty cents a year was paid by each member ; and collections were also sys- 
tematically taken, and forwarded to the parent body, which was styled " The 
Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge." The remittances 
for the first year amounted to ^'i. And there were 142 members. The meet- 
ings were held only annually. I do not know how long it continued in exist- 
ence. It is worthy of notice, chiefly as showmg the rising spirit of interest in 
benevolent operations at that ])eriod, and as a kind of forerunner of the present 
Ladies' Society,, and also of such organizations as the " Woman's Board of 
Missions." 



138 HISTORY OF 

seen, on the parish grounds, a Httle to the east of the parson- 
age, and fronting upon Hobart Street. It was a one-story 
building, forty feet by twenty-six, raised upon an embankment, 
with a basement or cellar beneath it, upon which lower level 
was also an entry-way, with passage from it by stairs to the 
main room. This embankment was raised by the singers, 
who discharged thus their subscription to the stock. 

The chapel served for many years all its intended uses ; 
including at different times that of a place for a private or 
"select" school. In 1864 changes upon the meeting-house, 
which would make it no longer needed, being in contemplation, 
the chapel society surrendered it to the parish, the parish passed 
it into the hands of its committee of repairs, its value went 
afterwards into the new rooms beneath the present house, and 
the chapel itself, in 1871, was sold to Mr. George B, Martin, and 
by him removed to the rear of his residence, where it remains 
in use as a carriage and store-house. If the embankment be 
now the property of the singers, and if that Orphic lyre, by 
which the stones might be moved, is still in use among them, 
there will be no objection on the part of the parish minister 
to their practising with it upon that very spot.* 



Scarcely had the chapel been finished before a certain 
cracking and settling of the walls of the Brick Meeting-house, 
which had for years been noticed, became too serious, it was 
thought, to be longer neglected. The building was adjudged 
unsafe. In 1838, immediately upon the acceptance of the act 
incorporating the society upon its new basis, as already men- 
tioned, measures were taken for the erection of a new house. 
The old house was demolished. The work on this building, 
specially at the foundation, was not supposed to have been 
done in the most orthodox fashion ; nor were the bricks re- 

* May 27, 1874. By a company of working men of the parish, including the 
minister, this embankment has. been levelled, and what remained of those un- 
counted stones removed and set for the foundation of a side-walk along Hobart 
Street, by " the ministry pasture." The work was done in much good-will ; but 

^ " With other notes than to the Orphean lyre." 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 139 

garded as of the soundest quality. But when it was under- 
taken to pull it down, it was found that there had gotten in 
some way more of Calvinism into that meeting-house than 
had been thought for. If it had been let alone it might doubt- 
less have stood to this day. But this was not apparent before 
the trial was made ; and the " young men," as they are styled 
upon the parish records, who were most efficient in pushing 
forward the new work, are still to be commended for judg- 
ment as well as spirit. 

The vote, in fact, was unanimous. Jesse Putnam, Samuel 
Preston, William Preston, Nathaniel Pope, Peter Cross, Daniel 
F. Putnam, and John Preston, w^ere chosen as building com- 
mittee. A year later Nathan Tapley was chosen to fill the 
place made vacant by the death of Daniel F. Putnam. Levi 
Preston was master carpenter. The work was done by the 
day ; and this time, beyond a doubt, it was strong and 
thorough. The cost was about twelve thousand dollars. 

The dimensions of the building then constructed, and still 
standing, are 84 feet in kngth, by 60 in breadth. 

The pulpit, as originally built, was high, and enclosed in 
front. It was lowered, and put in its present form, in 1864.* 

The new house was built with a basement story, in which 
was finished one large room for a sabbath school and for other 
public uses. This was named Village Hall. The designa- 
tion, though still in use, appears of late to be growing some- 
what less familiar. It is desirable that it should be preserved. 
It wa^ designed, no doubt, to commemorate the ancient Snlcin 
Village. And it is nearly all that now remains to us of that 
locally historic title. 

The house was dedicated Nov. 21, 1839. The sermon, by 
Dr. Braman, was from Titus i. 3 ; and was an elaborate and 
very able presentation of the power of " the preached gospel, 
considered in relation to the obstacles to its success and sup- 
port." 

* Of the pillars that stood in the front of the original pulpit, by the doors on 
either side, one is now preserved in the present vestry. In the same room is 
also a book-case made of the pulpit materials, and having upon it one of the 
pulpit doors. 



140 



HISTORY OF 



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Mention should be made among these signs of vigor and 
growth, of the establishment, somewhat later, in 1848, of the 
"Ministerial Library." Some suggestion in "The Boston 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 141 

Recorder " had taken root in the mind of Dea. Ebenezer Put- 
nam ; and to him we owe the founding of the hbrary. Sixty 
dollars were appropriated at first by the church for the pur- 
chase of books. Sums, varying from ten to twenty-five dollars, 
have been added annually. The library, designed for the 
pastor's use, is the property of the church ; and it numbers 
now somewhat above two hundred volumes. Saving a few that 
have been received by gift, and, indeed, including some of 
these, the books have been chosen with care ; and the collec- 
tion is of great and increasing value. A like method might 
be followed in many other of our country parishes, to the great 
advantage of all concerned. 

It is the purpose of the present pastor to collect and deposit 
in this library, as far as they can be procured, the printed ser- 
mons and other published works of his predecessors, and 
whatever further memorials of them he may be able to dis- 
cover. The universal helpfulness of the Ladies' Circle, it should 
be added, has shown itself with respect to this library also, in 
the furnishins: of valuable cases for the books. 



In the early part of his ministry, and for many years. Dr. 
Braman suffered from ill health. In 1840 he proposed a dis- 
solution of the pastoral relation on this ground. But he was 
persuaded to take leave of absence from his work instead. He 
spent several months in Europe ; and found benefit with rest 
and change ; but especially by the slow and stormy passage in 
a sailing vessel, through which he underwent, as he judged, 
something; like renewal. 



The period of the great discussion upon American slavery 
was just opening ; and when the doctor came back to his par- 
ish, strengthened from the perils of the sea, it was to encounter 
some waves of the political tempest upon the shore. Dr. 
Braman himself regarded slavery as an " atrocious system," — 
"an abominable system of oppression and mischief," — "one 
of the heaviest curses that ever afflicted man or provoked 



142 HISTORY OF 

Heaven." * But he did not approve of the particular measures 
that some were ready to adopt for its removal. His course in 
declining to give from the pulpit certain political notices led 
to the passage by the society, in 1841, of the following vote: 
" Resolved, that our ordained minister does, and of right ought, 
to stand before his people in the discharge of the duties of his 
office in a free and independent pulpit ; that we approve the 
stand he has taken in the communication read to us yesterday, 
so far as relates to the giving of notices ; and that we adopt 
the same as the rule by which we wish him to be governed 
while God shall spare him to labor amongst us." The resolu- 
tion was adopted by a vote of fory-three to five. 

In 1843, and again in 1845, Dr. Braman renewed his re- 
quest for a dismissal. At the time last named it seemed 
likely that his purpose to leave could not be shaken. The 
parish voted a reluctant assent. The doctor himself preached 
a parting sermon, to which the memories of his hearers have 
not yet bidden farewell. But the strong desire of the people, 
supported by the unanimous advice of a mutual council, pre- 
vailed at length, and happily, to secure his continuance in the 
ministry. 



The period through which we are passing was one of great 
prosperity for the business interests of Danvers ; and the 
modern growth and develop.ment of the town may date from 
about these years. 

The shoemaking industry, now one of the leading interests 
of 'the town, had been planted in the place from near the be- 
ginning of the century.f Before that time shoes had been 
made only for home use. But new markets were opening ; 
and the men of Danvers had the sagacity and energy to enter 
upon them. Caleb Oakes and Moses Putnam were prominent 

* Discourse on the Annual Fast, 1847, p. 21. 

t The materials under this head were furnished and arranged chiefly by Mr. 
Augustus Mudge. For a fuller statement of the growth of the shoe-trade in 
Danvers, see Appendix C, prepared by Mr. Edwin Mudge. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 143 

among the early manufacturers. The goods made were mostly 
of the coarser sort, for the Southern slaves. They were . sent 
chiefly in coasting vessels ; but, during the war of 181 2, they 
were carried to some extent by horse-teams fitted out from 
this place. Col. Gilbert Tapley, and others now living, were 
once engaged in this variety of commerce. At first the fas- 
tening of the sole upon the shoe was always done by sewing. 
Within twenty-live years some experiments were made in the 
use of wooden pegs ; and machines began soon to be thought 
of for that purpose. Dea. Samuel Preston obtained the first 
patent ever granted for a pegging-machine. The document, 
signed by Andrew Jackson, bears date March 8, 1833. This 
machine was arranged to put two rows of pegs upon each side 
of the shoe at the same time. It did not come into general 
use ; but the principle involved is found in all later machines. 

The manufacture was not carried on in this part of the parish, 
now known as the Center District, until about 1835. James 
Goodale, Otis Mudge, and others, began then to make ladies' 
and children's shoes of a finer grade, sending them to Boston 
for distribution from that point. This was done at first on a 
small scale ; but the business has since greatly increased. In 
1854 there were in the town, within its present limits, thirty- 
five firms engaged in this business, making annually 1,562,000 
pairs, valued at $1,072,258, and giving employment to about 
2,500 persons, — men and women. 

The use of machinery in the work has increased year by 
year ; though the most radical changes in this respect date 
from about i860. Machines are now employed at almost every 
step. The manual labor required has been reduced one-half. 
This general introduction of machinery has tended to the con- 
centration of the business in large places, and large shops ; 
and in so far the effect is unfavorable, as compared with the 
older and simpler methods, which allowed the workman to re- 
main in his own house. Production being also carried on 
with greater rapidity, the workmen are usually left without 
employment for considerable periods in each year. This very 
great evil may not prove to be of necessity involved in the 
system ; and it is to be hoped it will not be permanent. 



144 HISTORY OF 

Danvers shoes have always borne a good reputation in the 
markets of the country ; and they have in general deserved it. 
But this is only comparative. As minister of the parish, I 
will not aiTfirm that they are as yet, in all cases, constructed 
upon no other than Christian principles. 

The modern village at the Plain may date, in its beginning, 
from about the year 1830. It suffered a severe check by a 
great conflagration on the loth of June, 1845. The opening to 
that point of the Essex Railroad, leading from Salem to Law- 
rence, July 4, 1848, aided opportunely in its recovery and in its 
subsequent rapid growth. The road from Newburyport and 
Georgetown through Danvers to the line of the Boston and 
Maine Railroad, at South Reading, now Wakefield, opened for 
public travel in June, 1855, assisted in the same direction. 

That portion of the town has continued to grow in popula- 
tion and in relative importance. There have been set the 
various public buildings and institutions that belong with the 
centre of a town. The First National Bank, formerly the Vil- 
lage Bank, was established in 1836. The present building 
was erected in 1854. The Savings Bank, kept in the same 
rooms, was established in 1850. The Town Hall, in which 
are also the rooms occupied by the Holten High School, was 
built in 1854, and was first occupied at the annual meeting, 
March 5, 1855. « 

In the same building there was opened, in 1857, the Dan- 
vers branch of the Peabody Library. This library, the gift of 
George Peabody, Esq., a native of Danvers, and afterward a 
banker in London, whose large donations in money have made 
his name memorable, was first established in South Danvers. 
His birthplace had been in that portion of what was then 
the undivided town. As the library thus placed did not ac- 
commodate the inhabitants at the North, arrangement was 
made for this branch. Subsequently large additional sums 
were given by Mr. Peabody ; and the institutions in the two 
towns were made independent, each of them being liberally 
endowed. The present building of the Peabody Institute, 
upon the Park to the south of the Town House, was erected in 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



145 



1869. The library now contains about seven thousand vol- 
umes. The building has also an audience hall, in which 
courses of free lectures are given each year. The permanent 
funds of .the Institute amount to about sixty-six thousand 
dollars. 

With the growth of this village at the Plain, and the estab- 
lishment there of a new centre of the town, the relative im- 
portance of the former and original centre has diminished, 
and it cannot be expected that it will ever be restored. We 
take, therefore, this period of twenty or thirty years now un- 
der review, having its middle point between the years 1 840 
and 1850, as a kind of transition period in the history of Dan- 
vers. Before this time, and for two hundred years from its 
first settlement, the territory had been known as the Farms, 
the Village, or Salem Village, or the North Parish ; and its 
public centre and place of gathering had been at or near the 
spot where the meeting-house now stands. The seat of busi- 
ness was then removed. The ancient names, ceasing to have 
significance, were dropped from use. They are now rapidly 
passing even from memory. And so swift are these changes 
with the changing generations, that but a small proportion, it 
may be thought, of the present inhabitants of our town have 
any distinct knowledge of that earlier and original order of 
things which characterized by far the greater part of its 
history. 

This church and society, with its records and its name, is liow 
the chief remaining memorial of all that former order and age. 

With the increasing population at the Plain, there arose a 
desire for the establishment of public worship in that locality. 
Accordingly, at a meeting held in the schoolhouse, March 25, 
1844, there was organized the "Third Orthodox Congrega- 
tional Society in Danvers." Benjamin Turner, Samuel Brown, 
and Nathaniel Silvester were chosen standing committee ; 
and Moses J. Currier, treasurer and collector.* A mceting- 

* These details are drawn mainly from an unpublished historical sketch, pre- 
pared by Dea. S. P. Fowler, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the organization 
of the Maple-street Church. 



146 HISTORY OF 

house was erected the same year, upon the site now occupied. 
The first meeting was held in the basement, which was then 
named Granite Hall, Nov. 4 ; and the house itself was dedi- 
cated on the 22d of January following. The sermon on this 
occasion was by Rev. Lorenzo Thayer, who preached several 
months for the society. Meanwhile, the preliminary steps 
having been taken, a church was organized Dec. 5, 1844, with 
forty-two members. 

" Most of these persons," says Dea. Fowler, " and many 
others who joined the church, were dismissed from the First 
Church in this town, of which Rev. Dr. Braman was then 
pastor." And he adds the filial and fraternal testimony, that, 
" Whatever of zeal and efificiency we may have shown in estab- 
lishing and maintaining the ordinances of the gospel in this 
place, may be traced to the thorough teachings we received 
from the able and faithful pastors of the mother church." 

Frederick Howe and Samuel P. Fowler were chosen deacons, 
the former having held the same ofhce in the first church ; and 
to them was added, in 1864, John S. Learoyd. 

Rev. Richard Tolman, the first pastor of the church, was 
ordained Sept. 17, 1845. He resigned Nov. 8, 1848. To him 
succeeded, June 20, 1849, Rev. James Fletcher. The society 
had in these years its share of the difhculties belonging to a 
new enterprise, aggravated in this case by the losses in the 
great fire of 1845. On the loth of July, 1850, the meeting- 
house, which had only in part been paid for, was burned by 
the act of an incendiary. A young man was convicted of the 
crime, and sentenced to the State prison for life ; but nine 
years afterwards, having given signs of reformation, he was 
discharged at the petition of members of the society. 

Steps were immediately taken to rebuild. And the house 
now standing was dedicated Sept. 17, 1851, the services being 
conducted by Mr. Fletcher. Three years later a clock was 
put upon the tower of the house. The society gained slowly 
but steadily in strength, and was at length, by the vigorous 
exertion of its members, and notably by the generosity of the 
late Moses Putnam, freed from debt. The church also grew 
in numbers. In 1857 the term "third" having lost its ap- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. ' 147 

propriateness by the division of the town, a change was made 
in name, and the titles became as at present, the " Maple- 
street " Church and Society. 

Mr. Fletcher resigned his pastorate May 21, 1864. He 
was endeared by many admirable traits of character to his 
people, and was highly esteemed as a citizen throughout the 
town. After his dismissal, Mr. Fletcher was for several years 
principal of the Holten High School. He left this place, in 
1 87 1, to take charge of the Lawrence Academy, in Groton, 
where he now lives. Rev, William Carruthers was installed 
as pastor April 18, 1866. A revival was in progress at the 
time of his coming, as the fruits of which eighty persons 
were added to the church in that year by profession of their 
faith. Mr. Carruthers resigned March 28, 1868 ; and was sub- 
sequently settled at Calais, Me., where he still resides. Rev. 
James Brand was ordained as his successor, Oct. 6, 1869.* 

The Maple-street Church had, at the beginning of the pres- 
ent year, 281 members. It has now outgrown the parent 
church ; but it can never grow, either in numbers or in 
efficiency, beyond the loving and Christian wishes in its behalf 
of the ancient body from which it sprung. 

Some account may properly be given at this point of other 
churches now occupying the territory once embraced in this 
parish. 

The Baptist church, at the Port, though a little outside the 
original lines, should not be omitted. This is the second, 
in point of age, in the town. The society was formed Nov. 
12, 1781.1 Rev. Benj. Foster was invited to preach for the 

* From a later date it may be added that Mr. Brand left in the autumn of 
1873, to become pastor of the First Church in Oberlin, Ohio. And also, that the 
meeting-house of this society has been of late entirely remodelled within, and 
somewhat enlarged. 

t The materials for this sketch of the Baptist church were furnished to me 
chiefly by Mr. Francis Pope. After making out the leading items with diffi- 
culty from the records of the church and society, Mr. Pope fortunately learned 
of the " Sketch of the History of the Baptist Church in Danvers," prepared by 
Rev. A. W. Chaffin, and printed with the minutes of the "Salem Baptist Asso- 
ciation" for 1855. By the courtesy of the clerk of the association, and by the 
favor of Mr. Pope, the minutes have been placed in my hands. 



1^8 HISTORY OF 

society ; which he did for about two years.* A meeting-house 
was built in 1783, and while Mr. Foster was still in the place. 
After his removal there was no resident minister for nine 
years, though preaching was had for most of the time. The 
church was organized with thirty-six members, July 16, 1793 ; 
and Rev. Thomas Green became, at the same time, pastor. Mr. 
Green resigned, Nov. 26, 1796, and the church was without a 
settled pastor until 1802. In May of that year Rev. Jeremiah 
Chaplin, afterward President of Watei'vdlle College, in Maine, 
became pastor. His prosperous ministry lasted for sixteen 
years. During the latter part of this period Dr. Chaplin had 
many theological students under his charge ; and among them 
were two of the early foreign missionaries, Wheelock and 
Colman. Dr. Chaplin resigned in 1818, and was soon after 
succeeded by Rev. James A. Boswell, who remained only to 
April 25, 1820. Rev. Arthur Drinkwater was installed Dec. 
7, 1821, and remained until June 26, 1829. In 1828 anew 
meeting-house was erected. The old building was sold, and 
was subsequently removed to the Plain, where it is still stand- 
ing.! ^^^- James Barnaby succeeded to the pastorate in July, 
1830, remaining until May, 1832. During his ministry the 
great religious revival of that period was felt in this society, 
and many were added to the church. Rev. John Holroyd 
followed him in the office in August, 1832, and continued in 
the pastorate until his death, Nov. 8, 1837. The church pros- 
pered under his charge. The next pastorate was that of Rev. 
E. W. Dickinson, from May, 1838, to Oct. 26, 1839. The next, 
that of Rev. John A. Avery, from February, 1841, to April, 1843. 
About this time several members of the church and society 
withdrew to form at the Plain " what was styled a Free 
Evangelical Society." Rev. J. W. Eaton followed in the pas- 

* Mr. Foster was a native of Danvers, and a brother of Gen. Gideon Foster. 
He was a man of marked ability. He became afterward pastor of the First Bap- 
tist Church in New York City, where he died, in 1798, at the age of forty -seven. 

t It is used by Mr. John A. Learoyd as a currier's shop. This building is said 
to have been thought infirm at its removal ; but it has upon it at the present 
time a certain air of breadth and settlement in configuration, of such a sort that 
the eye of the beholder may not readily discern to what end it should ever fall 
down. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 149 

torate, from July, 1843, to August, 1849. The meeting-house of 
1828 was burned, to the great loss of the people, on the night 
of Sept. 6, 1847. A "s^v house, and the one now standing, 
was built the next year. Rev. A. W. Chafifin was ordained 
April 24, 1850. His labors were continued, with great accept- 
ance to the society, until his resignation, April 26, 1862. 
Mr. Chaffin was highly respected, and had many warm friends 
throughout the town. The pastoral succession was continued 
as follows: Rev. Foster Henry, from Dec. 5, 1862, to May i, 
1865 ; Rev. Charles H. Holbrook, from Nov. 14, 1865, to 
Sept. 2, 1870; Rev. J. A. Goodhue, from Nov. 22, 1870, to 
May I, 1872. Rev. G. W. McCullough, the present pastor, 
was ordained June 20, 1873. 

The Universalist Society was organized in 1829. There 
had, however, been a partial organization from 18 15, with only 
an occasional service. After its organization, meetings were 
held for two or three years in the old Baptist meeting-house, 
after its sale, and before its removal to the Plain. A meeting- 
house was begun in 1832, and made ready for occupancy by 
June, 1833. The present house, having the " Gothic Hall " in 
its basement story, was built in 1859. The pastoral succes- 
sion has been as follows : Rev. F. A. Hodsdon, 183 1-2 ; Rev. 
D. D. Smith, 1833 ; Rev. W. H. Knapp, 1834-5 \ Rev. Samuel 
Bremblecom, 1836-9; Rev. Asher Davis, 1840-41; Rev. 
D. P. Livermore, 1842 ; Rev. S. C. Buckley, 1843-5 ! Rev. 
J. W. Hanson, 1846-8 ; Rev. J. P. Putnam, 1849, to Nov. 30, 
1864, the date of his death; Rev. H. C. Delong, 1865-8; 
Rev. G. J, Sanger, 1869. Mr. Putnam was for many years an 
active and valuable member of the school committee ; and foi 
two years representative of the town in the General Court. 
Mr. Sanger, the present pastor, is also (1873) the town repre- 
sentative in the Legislature. 

The first Catholic service was held in Danvers, Nov. r, 1854, 
at the house of Mr. Edward Mc^eigue. The officiating cler- 
gyman was the Rev. Thomas H. Shahan, now of Beverly, then 
pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Salem. 



150 HISTORY OF 

Regular services began soon to be held in Franklin Hall, 
and afterward in a chapel which stood on the south side of 
High Street, near the old cemetery. In 1859 the house first 
built by the Universalist Society was purchased ; and, after an 
occupancy of several years, this building, having been greatly 
enlarged and remodelled, was dedicated anew by the Right 
Rev. Bishop J. J. Williams of Boston, April 30, 1871. Previ- 
ous to 1864 pastoral duties were performed by clergymen from 
Salem. From Oct. 13 of that year. Rev. Charles Rainoni 
had charge of this parish, and also of the Catholic parish of 
Marblehead, having his residence in Danvers. In 1872 he 
removed to Marblehead, the parishes being separated, and his 
place was taken by Rev. Mr. O'Reilly ; to whom succeeded, 
April, 1873, the present pastor, Rev. Joseph Haley. 

This is styled Annunciation Church. The Catholic parish 
of Danvers includes the towns of Middleton and Tops- 
field ; and it embraces a population estimated at more than 
1,500. 

Episcopal services were first held in Danvers, in the hall in 
the Bank Building, June 28, 1857; t^'^G Rev. George Leeds, 
then of Salem, officiating. The organization, under the title 
of the Calvary Church, took place April 14, 1858, the Rev. R. 
T. Chase being rector. The church building was consecrated 
by Bishop Manton Eastburn of Boston, May 25, 1859; ^'^^^ 
the incorporation of the parish was in October of the following 
year. Nearly the whole cost of this building was borne by 
Joseph Adams and E. D. Kimball ; and to their liberality the 
parish owes its possession free of debt. There have been some 
vacancies in the pastoral charge. Mr. Chase held the position 
about four years ; Rev. S. J. Evans about three years ; and 
the present pastor. Rev. W. I. Magill, entered upon the place 
in June, 1872. 

The Unitarian Society began its worship in the Town Hall 
on the first Sunday in Augu'st, 1865 ; the service being con- 
ducted by Rev. A. P. Putnam. The preaching was by various 
ministers, until the coming of Rev. Leonard J. Livermore, 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 151 

April I, 1867. A chapel was afterwards built on High Street, 
which was dedicated in 1871. The cost of this chapel, in- 
cluding the land, was about ;^ 13,000. Mr. Livermore was 
formally settled as pastor in 1872. The number of families 
connected with this society is now about fifty. 

The Methodist Society began to hold its meetings during 
the summer of 1871, in Lincoln Hall, which had formerly 
been the schoolhouse in Tapleyville. Work was begun upon 
its meeting-house the next year ; and it was dedicated in the 
spring of 1873. The entire cost of the building was about 
$15,000. The society has had a rapid growth. Rev. Elias 
Hodge is now pastor. 

There have also been occasional meetings of Swedenbor- 
gians for several years. These began to be held with some- 
what of regularity in December, 1869, at the house of Mrs. 
Mary Page ; and in 1872 regular service was established at 
Bowditch Hall. There is no formal organization ; but the 
services are conducted by Rev. A. F. Frost, of the " Salem 
Society of the New Jerusalem Church." 



In i860 Dr. Braman began again to take steps looking 
toward the dissolution of the pastoral relation between him- 
self and the people of the First Parish. In October of that 
year he sent a letter to the parish committee, giving the 
notice of six months required by the terms of his settlement, 
and proposing -to resign his charge in the following spring. " I 
have reached," he said, " that time of life when I wish to retire 
from the labors which the ministry imposes on me, and when 
it is usually better to give place to younger men." The mem- 
bers of his congregation were far from concurring, either in 
this wish or opinion. At a meeting of the parish, resolutions 
were unanimously adopted, expressive of high appreciation of 
his " pastoral care, and teachings," and of deep regret at the 
prospect of his removal. Strong efforts were made to dis- 



152 HISTORY OF 

suade him from his purpose, but without success. He closed 
his ministerial labors, accordingly, on the last sabbath of 
March, 1861. Agreeably, however, to Dr. Braman's request, 
no council was called at this time ; and he continued, though 
only nominally, the pastor of the church, until the settlement 
of his successor. He was minister of the parish for but a 
little less than thirty-five years. 

Dr. Braman removed to Brookline, and then to Auburndale, 
from whence he returned with his family to spend a few years 
in Danvers ; occupying the place upon the hill, east of the 
meeting-house, now owned by Mr. George H. Wood, and after- 
wards removing again, in 1868, to Auburndale, where he now 
resides. 

The pastoral office remained vacant nearly two and one- 
half years. During this interval the meeting-house was 
painted ; and in the spring of 1863 a valuable organ was pur- 
chased, and placed within it. 

The present pastor preached here for the first time on the 
24th of May, 1863. He was called, with unanimity, by the 
church and parish during the next month ; and was installed 
on Wednesday the 2d of September of the same year.* He 
is a native of Conway, in this State ; and he had been pas- 
tor of the church in Saco, Me., for two years ending with 
December, 1861. 



In 1864 a large part of the parsonage land was sold. There 
had appeared to be more than was needed. The portion dis- 
posed of lay mostly to the north-west of the land now belong- 
ing to the parsonage ; though a part of it was at the east, ex- 
tending in that direction to Forest Street. The north-western 

* Dr. Israel W. Putnam, D.D., was moderator of the council ; and the order 
of services was as follows : Opening prayer by Rev. George A. Bowman, Man- 
chester, N.H. ; reading of the Scriptures by Rev. J. B. Sewall of Lynn ; sermon by 
Rev. Prof. D. S. Talcott, D.D., of Bangor Theological Seminary; installing 
prayer by Rev, John Pike of Rowley ; charge to the pastor by the moderator ; 
right hand of fellowship by Rev. John S. Sewall of Wenham ; and concluding 
prayer by Rev. James Fletcher of Danvers. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DAN VERS. 153 

and main division embraced nearly all of what had been the 
original gift, by Joseph Holten, for the use of the ministry. 
No part of this original " ministry land " is now owned by the 
parish, it is believed, saving only a narrow lane, just beyond 
the house of Mr. John Roberts, running in to the north-east 
from the main road toward the site of the first parish, or 
ministry house ; and perhaps also a small strip at the north- 
eastern corner of the present parsonage land. 

We may have some regret at this surrender of that ancient 
property. And from an early period in the history of the 
parish there have always been grave doubts with respect to 
both the moral and the legal right to sell this land.* On the 
other hand, it may be considered that the land still held by 
the parish is sufficient, or nearly so, for the uses required. 
For what remains, at least, it is to be hoped that it will on 
no account be transferred from its present ownership. It 
renders a permanent and very material aid in the support 
of a minister. It adds greatly to the comfort and attrac- 
tiveness of the parsonage, as a home for his family, and 
gives a tendency thus to stability in the pastoral relation. 
The kind of man, too, needed for the minister of a country 
parish is most easily settled to stay, upon land. He has, and 
ought to have, some instinct of attachment to the soil. And 
with all that is now drawing men to the cities and large 
towns, our country parishes cannot afford to lose the counter- 
balancing value of these advantages which belong appropri- 
ately to them. 

I desire to speak strongly on this point for the benefit 
of my successors, and of the parish itself in future times. 
The land that remains should not be sold, even if some 
minister were to wish it might be. Whatever might be true 
in exceptional cases, the parish would certainly lose 
something in a long course of years, by the giving up of its 
lands, as to the character of the pastors it could secure and 
retain, 

* That Judge Holten shared in these doubts is certain, from a report made 
to the parish in 1784 by a committee of which he was a member, upon the pro- 
posal to convey this land to Dr. Wadsworth. 



154 HISTORY OF 

It is hardly necessary to add, that these lands about the 
parsonage are open to much improvement, not only in pro- 
ductiveness, but also in appearance. The judicious planting 
of trees, especially, in larger numbers, both upon the parson- 
age land and at some points about the meeting-house, would 
enhance the value of the place, and add much to the beauty 
of the neighborhood. For some neglect hitherto in this re- 
spect, the present occupant of the parsonage, pressed with 
many other engagements, must confess himself to be in part 
responsible. 



This period of the history cannot be passed without some 
reference to the great war for the suppression of rebellion, and 
the maintenance of the Union, with freedom. The people of 
Danvers sustained their part in this contest with energy and' 
determination, understanding the greatness of the interests 
involved. It was necessary only once, and that for but a little 
space in 1863, to resort to drafting in order to furnish the 
number of men required of us. The quota of the town was 
usually full, with a surplus to its credit ; and, throughout the 
last two years of the war, this was invariably the case. Five 
hundred and ten men of the inhabitants of Danvers, as nearly 
as I can now ascertain, enlisted for this war. 

Shortly after the close of the war, measures were taken for 
the erection of a monument in honor of those who gave their 
lives in the contest. At the annual town-meeting in March, 
1868, a committee was appointed to have the matter in charge, 
consisting of the following persons : Wm. Dodge, jun., E. T. 
Waldron, J. F. Bly, Wm. R. Putnam, Dean Kimball, Timothy 
Hawkes, George Andrews, Rufus Putnam, S. P. Cummings, 
Simeon Putnam, Henry A. Perkins, Josiah Ross, Edwin 
Mudge, and Daniel P. Pope. Nearly ;$3,ooo was raised by 
subscription. Of this sum Mr. Edwin Mudge gave nearly 
half ; contributing to this purpose for two years his salary as 
representative of the town in the Legislature. The town 
added a somewhat larger amount ; making, in all, $6,298.20. 
The monument stands in front of the Town House, It is of 









iK's 




JT 


If. 




SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AND TOWN HALL. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS, 155 

Hallowell granite, 33 i feet high, and 7I feet square at the 
base. It bears upon its front the inscription : — 

ERECTED 

BY THE CITIZENS OF DANVERS, 

IN MEMORY OF 

THOSE WHO DIED IN THE DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY 

DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, IN 1S61-65. 

On the other sides are cut the names of ninety-five persons 
who died on the field of battle, or by wounds, or by sickness 
brought on in the war. The list begins with the names of 
Major Wallace A. Putnam and Lieut. James Hill. 

The monument itself is a beautiful and appropriate structure. 
It was dedicated, with befitting ceremonies, Nov. 30, 1870. 

There is here an organization of the soldiers of this war, 
styled " Ward Post, No. 90, of the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic," established June 21, 1869. Its purposes are to cherish 
the sentiments of patriotism and loyalty, to preserve the 
memories and associations of the war, and to furnish such 
assistance as may be needed to the families of soldiers. It 
holds its meetings weekly, numbers 150 members, and dis- 
tributes annually in charities not far from $1,000. 

It is our wish that these men, with their brethren through- 
out the land, — the survivors of the great contest, — may long 
enjoy the blessings they thus fought to purchase ; and our 
hope that these priceless institutions themselves, of justice and 
freedom, may withstand every coming peril, whether of war or 
of peace, and may survive for the nourishment and shelter of 
appreciating generations to the end of time. 

The fiftieth anniversary of the sabbath school was com- 
memorated with appropriate observances on Sunday, Aug. 9, 
1868. Many members of the Maple-street sabbath school 
were present. A welcoming address was made by the pastor. 
Dea. Samuel Preston, the first superintendent, read a paper 
giving an account of the establishment of the school. Ad- 
dresses were given by Rev. Samuel B. Willis, a former super- 



156 HISTORY OF 

intendent ; by Rev. Hiram B. Putnam, son of a superintend- 
ent ; and by Dea. John S. Learoyd, superintendent of the 
Maple-street school. Papers were also read by Dea. Wil- 
liam R. Putnam, and Augustus Mudge, both superintendents, 
the latter having held the post for twenty years ; and by 
Edward Hutchinson, the superintendent then in office. 

Particular mention was made on this occasion of two ladies, 
Mrs. Emma Putnam Kettelle, and Mrs. Betsey P. Putnam, 
who had been most efficient helpers in the school, through 
nearly the whole period of its existence. Mrs. Kettelle was a 
teacher in the school from its first year. And for more than 
twenty-five years she was assistant-superintendent, having 
charge of the younger portion of the school. She died in 
1867. Mrs. Putnam, was a scholar from the first, a teacher for 
many years, and assistant-superintendent after the death of 
Mrs. Kettelle. Her own death occurred but a few weeks 
before the anniversary, and while her thoughts were much 
engaged in the preparations for it. 

Measures were taken at about this time for the remodelling 
of Village Hall, in the basement story of the meeting-house. 
This hall, though reckoned good in its day, was unsuited to 
the wants of the present time. It was low, and deficient as 
to light and air, and tending withal towards dilapidation. 
The space, too, was insufficient ; since the entire western end 
of the basement, now occupied by the two smaller rooms, and 
amounting to about one-third of the whole, had been left unfin- 
ished, as bare cellar. The chapel too, at the same time, had 
gotten both out of date and out of repair ; and it was proposed, 
by reconstructing the hall, to dispense with it altogether. 

After much discussion as to the method that should be fol- 
lowed, and many delays, the work was finally entered upon in 
1869, under the direction of a committee, consisting of Gilbert 
Tapley, Edward Hutchinson, Augustus Mudge, Charles P. 
Preston, and George B. Martin. The side walls of stone 
were in part removed ; the ground about the building was 
lowered, to allow the enlargement of the windows ; the base- 
ment itself was deepened by further excavation, giving more 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 157 

height to the rooms ; and the interior was newly arranged and 
built, and furnished anew in every part. The expense was 
$4,150. This sum was raised in part by subscription, and in 
part by various other voluntary efforts, in all of which the 
ladies of the society bore their full share. The outlay has 
been amply repaid in the convenience and comfort of the 
rooms as we now have them. 

The new hall was first occupied by the sabbath school on 
the 14th of November ; and the first prayer-meeting in the 
vestry was held on Tuesday evening of the same week. 

The walls of the main room in the meeting-house were fres- 
coed the next year ; and various improvements have also 
lately been made within and upon the parsonage buildings. 



Tlie population of Danvers, during this period of nearly 
two centuries and a half from its first settlement, has been 
stable and permanent to a somewhat remarkable degree. 
There has been comparatively little emigration to the West. 
Most of the early family names are still retained among us ; 
and some of them have been greatly multiplied. There are 
many families occupying land that was owned by their ances- 
tors at the settlement of the town, or not long afterwards. 

The number of farms or homesteads, however, which have 
been kept in the family line with no break or interruption in 
the succession, is not so large. The following list, which may 
not be complete, nor wholly free from inaccuracy, embraces 
all that can now be traced. The comparison is given for 
convenience, with the' proprietorship of Salem Village, as 
represented upon Mr. Upham's map for 1692 ; and it is made to 
follow the order of numbers which he has there assigned.* 

8. Of Bray Wilkins's extensive lands, small portions are occupied by 
Luther Wilkins and by Mr. Higgins ; and other portions also by other 
descendants.! 

* This list was prepared chiefly hy Dea. Wm. R. Putnam, Mr. Moses Prince, 
and Miss Susan Putnam. 

t All the families of the Wilkins name in the parish, and indeed throughout 
the region, are his descendants. 



1S8 HISTORY OF 

20. The estate of Thomas Fuller, jun., in part owned by Jeremiah and 
S. Fuller, and by Augustus Estey, his descendants. 

23. Of Dea. Edward Putnam's large homestead, the southern portion 
is owned by his descendant, William Putnam. 

34. Benjamin Putnam owned in the north part of the village : a small por- 
tion is in the possession of Mrs. Samuel WaUis and Mrs. James M. Perry. 

39. Mary, widow of Thomas Putnam, owned land that has descended 
to Francis P., John M., and William R. Putnam, and sisters. 

41. Jonathan Putnam's farm, in Putnamville, is inherited by the chil- 
dren of the late Mrs. Nancy P. Boardman. 

55. The farm near the paper-mill in Middleton, now owned by Sylva- 
nus Flint, probably belonged to Capt. Thomas Flint in 1692 ; and it has 
descended from him to its present owner.* 

59. John Buxton's estate, by intermarriage, has descended in the 
family to Asa and Robert Putnam. 

60. That of James Smith has been transmitted in part to a descend- 
ant, Joseph Fuller. 

71. The land of Joseph Hutchinson, jun., has descended to Elias 
Hutchinson and sisters. 

79. Some of Nathaniel Putnam's large estate passed directly to the 
children of Judge Samuel Putnam. A small portion is now held by his 
son, Dr. Charles G. of Boston ; other portions by Adrian and Otis F. 
Putnam, also descendants of said Nathaniel. 

89. Some part of the estate of Joseph and Jasper Swinerton is owned 
by the family of the late Amos Swinerton. A large portion- has also 
passed, by marriage, into the Pope family, and is now held by Nathanael, 
Jasper, and Zephaniah. 

93. Of Benjamin Houlten's f land, some is now owned by the family 
of the late Philemon Putnam, his descendants. 

III. Isaac Goodell's farm has been retained in the family, and is now 
occupied by Jacob Goodale and mother. 

119. Capt. Thomas Flint's farm, in West Peabody, is now owned by 
his descendant, Thomas Flint. 

130. The farm of Anthony Needham, jun., has passed by descent to 
Elias and Josepli S. Needham. 

* This farm is marked upon Mr. Upham's map as belonging, in 1692, to 
George Flint. But Serg. George Flint, brother of Capt. Thomas, moved to 
Reading, according to the book of the Flint family, " before the year 1682." 
Agreeably to this, the name appears in the parish rate for 16S1, while it is not 
in the corresponding list for 16S9 (intervening rates gone). The present mem- 
bers of the family think he never owned this land ; but upon that point I have 
no knowledge. That Mr. Wm. P. Upham should not hold accurately in mem- 
ory every conveyance of land in this circuit of towns is, I suppose, conceivable ; 
though this is the first indication I have ever seen of the fact. 

t This is the ancient spelling. Judge Samuel wrote it without the ti. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



159 



132. The land of Nathaniel Felton, jun., on Felton's Hill, lying partly 
within the parish, is now occupied by the heirs of John Felton. 

142. George Jacobs, sen., owned near the present iron foundery ; and 
some of the land is in the possession of descendants. This is within 
the bounds of the present town, but not of the Village parish. 



The number of inhabitants within the Hmits of the present 
town of Danvers, in 1672, was probably not much above 350 ; 
and this was not far from one-fourth of the population of the 
whole town of Salem, to which it belonged, at that time. This 
is not to be confounded with the number in the Village parish, 
which embraced a larger territory. The first census of the 
State was taken in 1765 ; * the second in 1776. I give the 
population of Danvers, as returned in these years, and also in 
the United States census for 1 790, and for each tenth succeed- 
ing year ; adding also, as marking the population at the time 
of the division of the town, and as covering the war-period, 
the enumerations by the State census of 1855 and of 1865. 



1765 
1776 
1790 
1800 
1810 

l820t 

1830 



2,133 


1840 


2,284 


1850 


2,42s 


1855 


2,643 


i860 


3.127 


1865 


3,646 


1870 


4,228 





5,020 
8,106 

4,000 

is, 1 10 

5,144 

S,6oo 



* Mr. Hanson, in his " History of Danvers," has twice stated the population 
of Danvers in 1752, the date of its incorporation as a district, at five hundred, or 
"about" that number. The village parish alone had that number seventy years 
before. There were more than three times as many. At the rate of increase from 
1765 to 1776, the number for 1752 would be 1968. It was probably less. There 
were 326 resident ta.x-payers, — not 280, as Mr. Proctor by some mistake has said. 
The ratio of five would give 1630 ; which, as the list was made out, is not too 
high. Mr. Hanson and Mr. Proctor also put the population in 1783 at 1921 ; 
of which I can give no account. 

t In 1820 there we.e but twenty-one houses on the line of road from the 
corner at the Plain, near the post-ofiice, by Elm, Holten, and Center Streets, 
to the Newburyport turnpike. There was no other line more populous. And 
there was no village, as we now use the word, at that time in the town. 

X The division of the town took place in 1855. The population of South 
Danvers, now Peabody, in 1855, was 5,348 ; in i860, 6,549 ; in 1865, 6,051 ; and in 
1870, 7,343. It will be seen that during the five years covering most of the war- 



l6o HISTORY OF 

The valuation of the town in 1 849 for the " North Ward," 
corresponding nearly to the town as at present, was 
$1,140,600 ; for the same limits in 1855, the last valuation be- 
fore the division of the town, $1,561,100; and the next year, 
after the division, $1,809,650. The rate of taxation for that 
year was -^-^^ per centum. In i860 the valuation stood at 
$2,290,200 ; and in 1865, ^.t $2,268,625. But this decrease 
during the war arose from investments in United States Bonds, 
exempted from local taxation, and not included in the assess- 
ors' estimates. These investments, indeed, must have been 
made to a much larger extent than thus appears ; and the fall- 
ing off in the valuation would have been greater, but for the 
nominal appreciation of values through the issuing of irre- 
deemable paper-money. In 1872 the valuation was $3,296,950. 
The rise of values, as measured in the paper currency, had 
ceased during this period ; but the town assessors, in the 
mean while, had raised their appraisement upon certain 
descriptions of property, and specially upon real estate in the 
central districts ; and thus the increase in value, though in so 
far actual, did not in reality occur wholly within that period 
of years.* (See Appendix D.), 



I will here make some statements in detail with respect to 
the organization and municipal arrangements of the town, 
which may be of interest at some future time. 

The municipal year of the town dates from the annual meet- 



period, Danvers barely held its own in population, while Peabody fell off nearly 
five hundred. 

It may be noticed also, that the population of the town of Danvers, as now 
constituted, was nearly the same in i860 with that of the undivided town 
twenty years previous. 

The increase from 1855 to i860 was in some part due to the enlargement of 
territory in 1857, by annexation of a district that had belonged to Beverly. 

* In 1874 the valuation is $3,222,050. But this decrease is due, again, to an 
extrinsic cause ; the tax on bank-stocks held by non-resident owners being now 
collected and paid over to the towns by the State ; and the value of the stocks 
thus not appearing upon the books of the assessors. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. i6l 

ing held on the first Monday in March, at which time all town- 
ofificers are regularly chosen. For convenience, however, the 
financial year is made to close about two weeks earlier, in 
order that a statement of accounts, expenditures, and estimates 
may be prepared and printed for the use of the town at the 
annual meeting. 

The amount raised by taxation for the year thus ending 
Feb. 15, 1873, was $44,888.96; and the rate of taxation on 
property \W per centum. There were expended in the high- 
way department, $13,064.52, the outlay in this direction being 
somewhat larger than usual ; for the maintenance of public 
schools, $12,821.37 ; for the fire-department, $3,615.97 ; and 
for the support of the poor, $3,512.81. 

The number of public schools was nineteen, and the num- 
ber of teachers employed twenty-four. 

The town-officers for the same year were as follows : 
Moderator at the Annual Meeting, George Tapley ; Clerk, A. 
S. Howard ; Treasurer, Wm. L. Weston ; Selectmen and As- 
sessors, Wm. Dodge, jun., Henry A. Perkins, Joshua Bragdon ; 
School Committee, W. Winslow Eaton, Geo. J. Sanger, Israel 
W. Andrews, John A. Putnam, John W. Porter, Chas. B. 
Rice ; Overseers of the Poor, S. P. Fowler, Amos Pratt, 
Daniel Richards ; Auditors of Accounts, Geo. Tapley, Jacob F, 
Perry ; Road Commissioners, R. B. Hood, Ira P. Pope, Francis 
Dodge ; Constables, Chas. H. Adams, Dennis W. Regan, J. 

C. P. Legro, F. W. Lyford, S. A. Merrill, F. A. Chase, Tim- 
othy Hawkes, Amos Prince, Richard Hood ; Fire-wards, 
Timothy Hawkes, Geo. W. Bell, John C. Putnam, Thomas 
Curtis, George Kimball ; Health Committee, Ebenezer Hunt, 
W. W. Eaton, D. A. Grosvenor, P. M. Chase, Lewis Whiting, 

D. H. Batchelder, H. O. Warren, Joseph Merrill, Nathanael 
Bragdon ; the first six of these being physicians. 

There were also chosen three surveyors of lumber, eight 
measurers of wo6d and bark, one measurer of leather, one 
measurer and weigher of grain, one sealer of weights and 
measures, eight field-drivers, three fence-viewers, one 
pound-keeper, and three members of a " River Committee." 
But as many of these persons do not appear to have presented 



l62 HISTORY OF 

themselves to be qualified according to law, or to signify their 
acceptance of these trusts, I do not record their names ; and 
thus, though by the fault of a part only, have they all failed 
of that undying remembrance to which they might otherwise 
have here attained. 



Lists of certain church and parish officers will here be 
given. And for convenience of reference the ministerial suc- 
cession, though already detailed, is placed with the rest. 

Ministers. — Stated Supplies. 

James Bayley, formally engaged Nov. ii, 1672.* Left about Jan. I, 
1680. 

George Burroughs, engaged November, 1680. Left early in 1683. 

Deodat Lawson, engaged February or March, 1684. Left in summer 
of 1688. 

Pastors. 

Samuel Parris, ordained Nov. 19, 1689. Gave up vi^ork June 30, 1696. 
Joseph Green, ordained Nov. 10, 1698. Died Nov. 26, 1715. 
Peter Clark, ordained June 5, 1717. Died June 10, 1768. 
Benjamin Wadsworth, ordained Dec. 23, 1772. Died Jan. 18, 1826. 
Milton P. Braman, ordained April 12, 1826. Resigned March 31, 1861. 
Charles B. Rice, installed Sept. 2, 1863. 

The very unusual length of these pastorates, setting aside the 
first, cannot fail to be noticed. The parish had but four min- 
isters for a period of 163 years. The terms of three of these 
ministers cover a space of 1 39 years, exclusive of the intervals 
between them. While the successive ministries of Mr. Clark 
and Mr. Wadsworth embrace together 104 years. 

No minister in these two hundred years has ever left this 
parish at the call of any other religious society, to settle else- 
where. And only one minister has ever left its service at his 
own choice. 

* This is the date of the first parish-meeting, and of the vote to provide for the 
payment of Mr, Baylcy's salary. He may have begun to preach nearly a year 
earlier; but this is uncertain. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 163 

Deacons.* 

The person first named in tliis list, and perhaps also the 
second, had held an anomalous office " in the place of deacon," 
before the organization of the church in 1689 ; and both of 
them, though not at once formally inducted into the office, 
might be regarded as holding the position from that date. 

1690. Nathanael Ingersoll, in office thirty years ; died 1719, aged eighty- 
five years. He Hved near the present parsonage, and left no children. 

1690. Edward, son of Thomas, grandson of John Putnam, sen., was in 
office forty years. A record of his acceptance of the choice made, and of 
Dea. Ingersoll's ordination, was made by Mr. Parris, andean be found in 
vol. i. of Upham's " Salem Witchcraft," together with a sketch of the 
worthy man. His large homestead was in the westerly part of the village, 
near Ipswich River. His house stood near the one now owned by Joseph 
Towne, in Middleton. Died in 1747, aged ninety-four years. He had 
seven sons. His descendants living here are hereafter named. Among 
those scattered abroad was his grandson, Brig.-Gen. Rufus, who was dis- 
tinguished as a military engineer and commander in the Revolutionary War; 
afterwards, as one of the first settlers of Marietta, and a founder of the 
State of Ohio. His great-grandson, Oliver, was the founder of the " Put- 
nam Free School," Newburyport. Also among them was the late la- 
mented Prof. John N., of Dartmouth College. 

1709. Benjamin, son of Nathanael, grandson of John Putman, sen., in 
office nine years. Died 17 14, aged 50 years. His home was on land 
now owned by Miss Goodhue, near the farm of Samuel Wallis. One 
son, Daniel, graduated at Harvard College in 1717 ; was settled in Read- 
ing, Mass., and there passed a long and useful ministry. Of his descend- 
ants, now connected with the society, are Mrs. Joseph Towne and daugh- 
ters, Mrs. Samuel Wallis, Mrs. E. G. Berry. 

1718. Eleazer, son of John 2d, also grandson of John Putnam, sen., was 
in office fifteen years. Died, "after a long illness," in 1733. His house 
stood on the spot now occupied by Mr. John Preston, Preston Street. 
His descendants in the parish are the children of the late Elijah Pope, 
sen. The children of the late Rev. Israel W. Putnam of Middleborough, 
and Samuel Putnam of Brooklyn N. Y., are also descendants. 

1 73 1. Nathanael, son of Dea. Benjamin Putnam, in office twenty-three 
years. Died in 1754. He lived near the house now owned by Otis F. 
Putnam, Holten Street. Many of his descendants are in New York and 
Brooklyn, and in Maine. 

1733- Joseph Whipple, in office seven years. Died 1740. He lived at 
the foot of Whipple Hill, on the north side of the road from the Plain to 

* This list of deacons was prepared by Miss Susan Putnam. 



164 HISTORY OF 

Middleton, near the present railroad bridge. The families of Mrs. John 
Preston, and of Adrian and Orrin Putnam, are descendants, now con- 
nected with the society. 

1741. CorneHus Tarbell, in office twenty-one years. Born 1690. He 
lived in the now unoccupied gambrel-roofed house, corner of Pine and 
Hyde Streets. He had a large family, but it is not known that any de- 
scendants are in the parish : some are in Lynnfield. 

1756. Archelaus, son of Dea. Nathanael Putman, in office one year. 
Died 1757. He lived in the house now occupied by Gilbert Tapley, in 
Tapleyville. Among his descendants in town are the families of the late 
Samuel Fowler and John Page. None in the society. 

1757. Samuel Putnam, jun., in office five years. The record states that 
he, with his family, removed to Lunenburg, Mass., when in office ; and he 
was dismissed from the church in 1762. 

1762. Asa Putnam, great-grandson of Nathanael, sen., in office thirty- 
three years. Pied 1795. He built and occupied the house afterwards 
owned by the late Jesse Hutchinson, on Newbury Street. Descendants 
now in the parish are the families of the late Asa Hutchinson and Dea. 
Elijah and Benjamin Hutchinson. 

1762. Edmund Putman, also great-grandson of Nathaniel, sen., in office 
twenty-three years. Died 18 10, aged eighty-six years. Lived where 
Augustus Fowler now owns, on the road leading from the Plain to Tops- 
field. His descendants in town are of the family of the late Elias Put- 
nam, Esq. None in the society. 

1785. Gideon, grandson of Dea. Benjamin Putnam, in office nineteen 
years. Died May, 181 1, aged eighty-four years. Dr. Wadsvvorth's 
record says, " that having served the church almost twenty years as 
deacon, and being advanced in years, he requested to l^e exempted from 
the labors of the office, but did not make a resignation of the office itself." 
However, a successor was chosen. He lived on the site now occupied by 
Daniel Richard's store, corner of High and Elm Streets, on the "Plain. 
The children of the late Judge Samuel Putnam are descendants, and re- 
side in Boston and vicinity. 

1795. Daniel Putnam, in office seven years. Died 1801, aged sixty- 
three years. His homestead is now owned (1873) by B. Augustus Pea- 
body, near Ipswich River. The families of Nathanael, Jasper, and the late 
Elijah Pope are descendants, now connectedvvith the society. 

1802. Joseph Putnam, in office sixteen years. Died iS 18, aged seventy- 
nine years. His home, on the south side of Maple Street, leading from 
the Plain to Middleton, is now owned by his grandson, John M. The 
families of the late Jesse Putnam and Allen Nourse are descendants. 
Some of the latter — Mrs. Elijah Hutchinson and children, and the family 
of the late Samuel P. Nourse — are now in the society. 

1807. James Putnam, in office twelve years. Died 1819, aged sixty- 
nine years. He lived where the family of the late Asa Hutchinson now 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. • 165 

reside, corner of Holten and Collins Streets. No descendants now 
living. 

1818. Jonathan Walcut, in office thirteen years. Died 1844, aged 
eighty-two years. He lived on the west side of Newbury Street, near the 
present farm of Jasper Pope ; house not now standing. Mrs. George 
Tapley and family, and the children of Reuben Wilkins, are descendants, 
connected with the society. 

1820. Eben. Putnam, great-great-grandson of Dea. Edward, in office 
eleven years. Died 1831, aged sixty-five years. He lived on a part of 
the large homestead of "his good ancestor. The house is owned and 
occupied by his son William and daughter Polly, who are now connected 
with the society. 

1832. John Thomas, in office twenty-nine years. Now living. 

1832. Frederic Howe, in office twelve years. Now connected with 
Maple-street Church. 

1845. Ebenezer, son of Dea. Eben. Putnam, ip office three years. Died 
1848, aged forty-two. Rev. Hiram B. Putnam and sister, of Salem, are 
his children. He lived on Dayton Street, leading from Newbury Street to 
Middleton, at the place now owned by Robert M. Peabody. 

1848. Samuel Preston, in office thirteen years. Now living. 

1861. Elijah Hutchinson,* now in office. 

1861. William R. Putnam,t now in office. 

Standing Committees. 
1672. 1700. 

Lieut. Thomas Putnam. Lieut. Jonathan Putnam. 

Thomas Fuller, sen. Benj. Hutchinson. 

Joseph Porter. John Tarbell. 

Thomas Flint. Benj. Putnam. 

Joshua Rea. Thomas Fuller, jun. 

* The ancestry of the Hutchinson family has been traced back to Barnard 
Hutchinson, living in 1282, in Cowlam, Yorkshire, England. The first of the 
name in this country was Richard, who came in 1634. He brought with him his 
son Joseph, born the year before in England, and occupied the lands in the 
meadow and upon the hill, at the east, north-east, and north of the meeting- 
house. 

The family connection springing from this stock is too large to be traced : I 
give only the single line toward the family of Dea. Hutchinson. From the first 
Joseph it proceeds, Joseph, Ebenezer, Jeremy, to Joseph ; from whom we have 
Elijah and Benjamin ; and from Elijah, as heads of families, Edward, Alfred, 
and Warren. 

t The Putnam name has been borne from early times in this place by a much 
larger number of persons and households than any other. The line in this 
particular branch of the family runs back thus : William R., Daniel, Israel, 
David (brother of Gen. Israel), Joseph, Thomas, to the original John, coming 
from Buckinghamshire, England, in 1634. 



i66 



HISTORY OF 



1725. 

Samuel Flint. 
Joseph Fuller. 
John Preston. 
Nathanael Putnam. 
Joseph Putnam. 

1750. 
Record missing. The names of 
the clerk and the treasurer for that 
year will be found in their places. 
Jonathan Putnam and John Preston 
were collectors. 

1775- 
Tarrant Putnam. 
John Swinerton. 
Cornelius Tarbell. 
Abel Nichols. 
John Preston. 

1800. 
Jonathan Porter, jun. 
Levi Preston. 
Elijah Flint 

1 8 10. 
Elijah Flint. 
Asa Tapley. 
Daniel Putnam. 
Nathan Putnam. 
Eben Putnam, jun. 

1820. 
Moses N. Putnam. 



1820 {continued). 
Jesse Putnam. 
Amos Pope. ->- 

1830. 
John Preston. 
Nathanael Pope. 
Nathan Tapley. 

1840. 
Jesse Putnam. 
Samuel Preston. 
Nathan Tapley. 

1850. 
Isaac Demsey. 
Matthew Putnam. 
Charles P. Preston. 

i860. 
Samuel Preston. 
Augustus Mudge. 
S. B. Swan. 

1870. 
Wm. R. Putnam. 
W. B. Woodman. 
Augustus Mudge. 

1872. 
Wm. R. Putnam. 
Augustus Mudge. 
George B. Martin. 

1874. 
Augustus Mudge. 
S. B. Swan. 
S. Walter Nourse. 



The Standing Committee for a long time, saving for their 
power to call parish-meetings, were little more than assessors. 
In later years they have been expected to attend to the general 
interests of the parish ; and have possessed considerable dis- 
cretionary authority. 

Clerks. 

It does not appear who was the first clerk. The first four 
pages of the present parish record, which is a copy, are in the 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



167 



handwriting of Deodat Lawson, who certainly was not clerk. 
Thence, from 1674, the copy proceeds in the writing of 
Thomas Putnam. He appears soon to have been clerk ; and 
there may have been none before him. He held the office, 
saving for five or six years, to 1699. 

The list thenceforward, as nearly as can be gathered, is as 
follows, the figures indicating the date of appointment : — 



Jonathan Putnam .... 1700 

Daniel Rea 1702 

John Putnam 1703 

Benj. Putnam 170S 

Jonathan Putnam .... 1706 

Daniel Rea 1707 

Edward Putnam _ 170S 

Samuel Andrew 1709 

Israel Porter 17 10 

Joseph Putnam 171 1 

Daniel Rea 171 2 

Thomas Flint 17 13 

David Judd 17 14 

Ezekiel Cheever 171 5 

Thomas Flint 1716 

Samuel Nurs .• 171 7 

Israel Porter 17 18 

John Walcott 17 19 

Joseph Putnam 1720 

Jonathan Putnam . . . .1721 

Samuel Putnam 1722 

Israel Porter 1723 



Samuel Nurs . . . 
Nathanael Putnam . 
Samuel Nurs . . . 
Nathanael Putnam . 
Daniel Rea .... 
Joseph Putnam . . 
Joseph Whipple, jun. 
James Prince * . . 
Daniel Rea . . . 
Joseph Whipple, jun. 
John Giles .... 
Jonathan Putnam 
Samuel Holten . . 
Henry Putnam . . 
James Prince . . . 
Daniel Rea .... 
Samuel Holten . . 
James Prince . . . 
Henry Putnam . . 
Archelaus Putnam . 
John Preston f . . 
Archelaus Dale . . 



1724 
1725 
1726 
1727 
1729 

1731 
1732 

1734 
1735 
1736 
1737 
1738 
1740 
1741 
1743 
1745 
1746 

1747 
1748 

1749 
1750 
1751 



* James Prince was a descendant of Robert Prince, one of the original peti- 
tioners for the setting-off of Salem Village. He was an active man in parish and 
town affairs, and was the first treasurer of the town. He lived in what is now 
the farm-house upon the place lately owned by Stephen Driver, and now owned 
by Jacob E. Spring. He was great-grandfather of Moses Prince and Amos 
Prince of the present time. The two connecting links were James and Amos ; 
and James was brother to Dr. Jonathan. 

t The Preston lineage runs thus : Roger, coming from England ; Thomas, 

son-in-law of Francis Nourse of 1692 ; John, John, to Capt. Levi. Capt. 

Levi was father of the Levi by whom the present meeting-house was built ; and 
from him we have also the family of the late Mrs. Mehitabel Preston Berry ; John, 
with his son Charles P. ; Dea. Samuel ; and the family of the late William 
Preston, with others of the name not connected with the parish. 

Harriet W. Preston, daughter of Dea. Samuel, is well known as the author 



1 68 



HISTORY OF 



Gideon Putnam 1754 

James Smith 1757 

Asa Putnam 1760 

Richard Whittredge, jun. . . 1766 

Archelaus Dale 1770 

James Smith 1773 

Tarrant Putnam 1775 

Asa Putnam 1776 

John Preston 1779 

Samuel Page 1781 

Eleazer Putnam 1783 

Daniel Putnam 1785 

Zerubbabel Porter .... 1787 
Daniel Putnam, jun. . . . 1789 
Ebenezer Brown 179° 



Jonathan Porter 
George Upton . 
Zerubbabel Porter 
Jesse Upton . 
Jonathan Porter, j 
Hezekiah Flint 
Israel Andrews 
Elijah Flint 
Amos Pope 
John Preston, jun 
Daniel F. Putnam 
Wm. R. Putnam 
F. P. Putnam . 
Rufus Tapley * 
Auo-ustus Mudg-e 



1791 
1793 
1794 
179s 
1796 
1806 
1806 
1807 
1820 
1822 
1832 
1836 

1837 
1838 
1866 



It will be seen, that, as to the clerkship, the parish had for 
a century the full benefit of rotation in office. The work was, 
in fact, reckoned a burden, the clerk having no pay ; and it 
was thus meant to be somewhat fairly distributed. For the 
sake of the future annalist of the parish, it is to be hoped that 
the former usage may not be restored, unless the historian 
is to be also himself provided with a clerk. 

Treasurers. 

Moneys belonging to the parish were at first in the keeping 
of " the men chosen in the place of deacons." After the or- 
ganization of the church, the business continued mainly in the 
hands of its deacons, — the Standing Committee possibly 
sharing somewhat in the responsibility, — until the choice of 
a treasurer in 1720. Deacon Edward Putnam was the first 
appointed to this office, the duties of which he had probably 
discharged for many years before. From this time forward, 
the list is as follows : — 



of " Aspendale," "Love in the Nineteenth Century," of many German and 
French translations, and notably of a fine reproduction in English of the Pro- 
ven9al poem, " Mireio." 

* Mr. Tapley held the office of clerk until his death, in the autumn of 1865. 
He was also sexton for a long term of years. He took an interest in whatever 
belonged to the house of God ; and his careful and conscientious discharge of 
the duties of this not unimportant position is worthy of honorable remembrance. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 



169 



Dea. Eleazer Putnam . 
Timothy Lindall . . . 
Capt. Thomas Flint . . 
Dea. Nathanael Putnam 
James Prince . . . ^ 
Joseph Putnam . . 
Henry Putnam . . 
John Preston . . . 
Archelaus Dale . . 
Amos Putnam . . 
Dea. Samuel Putnam 
James Prince . . . 
Dr. Samuel Holten . 



1722 Daniel Putnam . 

1723 Israel Putnam 

1724 Stephen Putnam . 

1734 Col. Jeremiah Page 

1735 John Kettelle . . 
1744 Dr. Samuel Holten 

1752 Daniel Putnam . 

1753 Col. Jesse Putnam 
1755 Israel Adams . . 

1760 Ebenezer Putnam 

1 761 Nathanael Pope . 

1762 Sylvanus B. Swan 
1764 George Tapley 



Dr., or Judge Holten, was treasurer, in all, forty 
held the office to the time of his death. Since 
treasurer has also been collector. 



1778 
1781 
1783 
1785 
1786 
1789 
1816 
1823 
1831 

1835 
1840 

1854 
1870 

years, and 
1840 the 



Superintendents of the Sabbath School 



Samuel Preston . 








1818 


Ahira Putnam . . 






1835 


Porter Kettell . . 








1820 


Wm. R. Putnam . , 






1836 


Samuel Preston . 








1821 


Ebenezer Putnam 






1 841 


Nathan Tapley . 








1822 


Moses W. Putnam . 






1842 


Samuel B. Willis 








1826 


Wm. R. Putnam . . 






1844 


John Peabody 










Ebenezer Putnam 






1845 


Porter Kettell 








1829 


Augustus Mudge 






1848 


Ebenezer Putnam 






1830-33 


Edward Hutchinson 






1868 


George W. Endicott 






Augustus Mudge 


Dec. 1873 










Choristers. 









The first leader of singing, so far as is now remembered, 
was Mr. John Kettelle, who had charge of this branch of wor- 
ship for many years, and who died in 1801. 

To him succeeded Amos Prince, who resigned in 18 16. 
Next, for a like space of fifteen years, John Preston, to Septem- 
ber, 183 1. Afterward, for shorter periods, I^enjamin Henderson, 
William Preston, Elijah Pope, Rufus Tapley, Daniel Peabody 
(1843-45), William Preston (1846-50), George Tapley, Wyatt 
B. Woodman, John Swinerton ; and, from the spring of 1863 
to the present time, E. P. Davis, who had also held the posi- 
tion at intervals, amounting in all to four or five years, previ- 
ous to 1863. 



170 HISTORY OF 

Mention has already been made of the formation of the 
choir early in the ministry of Dr. Wadsworth, and about one 
hundred years ago. For a long time nothing was paid in 
any form for the singing. The singers had leave, as we have 
seen, to build their own seats in the meeting-house, at their 
own cost. After something more than fifty years, or about 
1830, persistent efforts began to be made to secure a small 
appropriation of money for the use of the choir ; with persist-* 
ent opposition. The choir had permission in 1833 "to rent 
the end of the old singers' seats in the meeting-house," if they 
could, and apply the proceeds to the improvement of the 
singing. Money was at length voted. And of late years the 
Parish Committee has been authorized to expend such sums 
as might be needed, the amount being for chorister and 
organist usually not far from $200. Arrangements are also 
occasionally made for free singing-schools, which might well be 
held more frequently. 

The harmony of this delightful part of public worship has 
not been interrupted, under its present management at least, 
by contentions among the singers, or by misunderstandings 
between the singers and the minister. 



With respect to the number and order of meetings here 
held, it may be observed that the custom of holding two 
preaching services on the sabbath has never been departed 
from in this place ; saving that very lately (1873), the monthly 
concert of the sabbath school has been held upon the after- 
noon of the second sabbath in each month. These concerts 
themselves, which had before been held in the evening, are of 
recent origin, beginning with regularity from June 14, 1857. 

The third, or evening service of the sabbath, was not fully 
established until after the building of the chapel ; although 
before that time meetings were frequently appointed at the 
different schoolhouses, and also at dwelling-houses. This 
evening service, as now conducted, is a missionary concert 
and prayer-meeting upon the first sabbath of the month, and 
at other times a prayer-meeting ; except that recently " praise 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 171 

meetings," in which singing is made most prominent, have 
been held with something of regularity, upon eitner the fourth 
or the last sabbath of the month. The missionary concert 
began with the later years of Dr. Wadsworth's ministry, 
and was held on the afternoon of the first Monday of the 
month, at the schoolhouse in this district. Here also Dr. 
Wadsworth had his monthly Thursday afternoon lecture, 
occurring on the week before the sabbath of the communion. 
The sacrament of the Lord's supper was celebrated at that 
time, upon the first sabbath of each month ; and this had 
been the prevailing, but not invariable custom from early 
times. From near the beginning of Dr. Braman's ministry, 
it has occurred on the first sabbath of each second month 
only, beginning with January. There is a lecture preparatory 
to this service on the Friday evening preceding.* And 

* I have not been able to find exactly to what extent the old and famous New 
England " Lecture " was given in this place. There are, however, numerous 
traces of its occurrence ; and I suppose it was observed from soon after the or- 
ganization of the parish, with occasional interruptions, through most of the last 
century ; and that it became finally, in some sort, merged in this " Preparatory 
Lecture." There was no relation between the two at first. The old "Lecture" 
was an institution by itself, and of renown in its day. 

It was established in Boston, 1633, upon the settlement of Rev. John Cotton. 
Mr. Cotton appears to have brought it from Boston in England ; but of its history 
there little is known. The fame and ability of the preacher, and the authority 
also of the government, soon brought it into great repute ; and the observance 
was extended throughout the colony. It became, and continued to be for many 
years, nearly the most important meeting that was held. It occurred regularly 
on Thursday of each week, near the middle of the day ; and it was called at first 
the " Thursday-Lecture," or the " Fifth-day Lecture." 

There was much exchanging among ministers for this lecture ; and the "great 
sermons " were preached on these occasions. (Compare, as to this, the list of 
the publications of Rev. Peter Clark, p. 67, note.) 

The attendance was for a time made compulsory, as it was also for the sab- 
bath service. A man was fined in Salem, in 1649, S-''-> ^"^ ~^- 6a'- court fees, for 
absence. (Felt's "Annals," p. 180.) But such enforcement of the law was rare. 

In Essex County, at the end of the 17th century, the lecture was held often 
on Wednesday, or on other days of the week, as might be convenient. And it 
did not occur of necessity each week ; but it might be monthly, or with any other 
interval. Mr. Green often attended the Salem Lecture ; and he held one in this 
place, as I think, once in six weeks, and on the week before the sacrament, 
which for a considerable time was administered at that rate of frequency. In 
this way I conclude it may with us, and probably elsewhere, have passed at 



172 HISTORY OF 

on this evening of every week besides, occurs the regular 
prayer-meeting of the church, open to all persons, and dating 
also from the early part of Dr. Braman's ministry. Since 1863 
there has been held a regular meeting of the church, for busi- 
ness purposes, and also for social worship, once in two 
months, on the afternoon of the Friday before the communion, 
and upon the same day with the preparatory lecture. There 
is also held a " young people's meeting," upon each Tuesday 
evening. This meeting had its origin in 1857, and has been 
maintained, with only one or two brief suspensions, from that 
time. 

Evening meetings, it will be observed, are of modern origin. 
The population, until within recent years, was too far scattered 
for easy assembling, except by day. Dr. Wadsworth, withal, 
did not approve of evening meetings, — a judgment for which 
he could probably have given reasons. The practice has its 
inconveniences, and possibly its evils, especially for young 
children. These inconveniences were greater then than now ; 
while those changes in occupation, which have made it diffi- 
cult to hold meetings in the afternoon, had not then taken 
place. At present the system is one of necessity and of great 
usefuhiess. 



The number of church-members reported Jan. i, 1861, 
was 156; in 1862 it was 143 ; and in 1863, it was given as 

length into a service preparatory to the sacrament. But it did not take such a 
character for a long period. 

The lecture was continued in Boston, upon its old footing, throughout the 
greater part of the last century, though with declension from its original honor. 
Even so early as 17 15, "during a violent storm," the Chief Justice of the .State 
was moved to count the audience, and found but si.xteen women and two hundred 
men. It was suspended during the siege of Boston, and resumed on a day of 
triumph for the deliverance of the city, with the attendance of Washington and 
his ofificers. Of its later history there I am not informed. 

There is an interesting discourse, of which I have made use, in the library of 
the Coiii^regatioiial Association, entitled "The Shade of THE Past: for the 
celebration of the close of the second century since the establishment of the 
Thuesday Lecture." By Rev. N. L. Frothingham. 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 173 

175. But these figures arc incorrect, since there were no 
additions to the church from i860 to 1863. In 1863 there 
were twenty-four additions, mostly before the coming of the 
present pastor, and as the result of a considerable degree of 
religious interest that had prevailed during a period of six 
months, while Rev. William Crawford, now of Green Bay, 
Wis., was laboring in the parish. At the close of this year 
there were 155 church-members ; forty-three being males, 
and 122 females. Three years later, Jan. i, 1867, the mem- 
bership had risen to 202. This is a little larger that the 
number in 1833, after the great revival. And it indicates, un- 
doubtedly, the largest membership ever reached by the church, 
— a number still much beneath that which it should attain, to 
hold its due relation to the congregation and the parish. The 
sabbath school was also then at its largest point ; the whole 
number of members amounting to 404, and the number pres- 
ent on single sabbaths being nearly 300. The congregation 
had been much larger at a former period, just before the 
establishment of the society at the Plain. It averaged, how- 
ever, at this time, upon pleasant sabbaths, about 400. 

Since that time there has been a diminution in all these 
numbers. This is owing to a variety of causes. With respect 
to the church, it is due, primarily, to some relaxation in 
Christian zeal and fidelity, which we trust may not long con- 
tinue. The very unusual prevalence of sickness and mortality 
in this part of the town during the last two years, by which 
nearly sixty persons have been taken from the parish, has also 
had a perceptible effect in diminishing our numbers. But the 
chief cause has been the establishment of the new Methodist 
church and society near by us at Tapleyville. This has 
drawn very largely from our sabbath school and congregation. 

It has been the fortune of this society from an early period 
to be thus from time to time retrenched in extent and popula- 
tion, by the setting on foot of new enterprises : as having 
been originally a large territorial parish, it could hardly have 
been otherwise. First came the setting off of the new town 
and parish at Will's Hill, or Middleton. Then there was the 
loss of a large number of families upon our south-western 



174 HISTORY OF 

border, consequent, more or less directly, upon the establish- 
ment of the " South Parish " in Danvers, and the formation 
ultimately of the new town of Peabody. A large section of 
Salem Village fell within its boundaries ; and the inhabitants 
there came gradually to be separated from us in association 
and interest. This process is only now completing itself in 
the permanent maintenance of a sabbath school, with a preach- 
ing service at West Peabody. Still later came the great 
division at the organization of the Maple-street Church and 
Society at the Plain. All these were territorial, and had 
respect chiefly to convenience of attendance upon public 
worship. 

But other separations have grown out of diversities in re- 
ligious belief and ecclesiastical practice. The agreement of 
opinion in these points that marked the original population of 
the parish, and of New England, could not be maintained with 
the wider opening and continued growth of the country. It 
was not to be expected, — perhaps not to be desired. Thus, 
as already noted, there have been formed societies of Baptists, 
Universalists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Unitarians, and 
Methodists. All of these, except the Catholic, have been 
formed chiefly from the population once embraced within 
this parish. The denominational diversity already arrived at 
is so great, and offers so large a field to individual choice, 
that we may suppose it will not be carried much farther in 
the immediate future. 

The old church and society, meanwhile, thus repeatedly 
weakened, have rallied upon each occasion, and have gone far 
toward regaining their full strength. So we may trust, by the 
good hand of God upon us, it will be in the future. It is a 
matter of wonder, as we review the history, not that the 
society should have been thus weakened, but that, under all 
these adverse circumstances, it should have remained ' so 
vigorous. 

The great change in the establishment of a new centre of 
the town, at some distance from this point, has placed us at a 
disadvantage to which we cannot be insensible. The growth 
of business, and the increase of population, are in that direc- 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. IJ^ 

tion, rather than with us. PubHc assembUes of every kind 
are more easily gathered there. Faithful and patient exertion 
will be needed to maintain this religious society in strength and 
efficiency. But the need there is of patience and fidelity may 
not prove in the end an injury to us. We have still a field to 
occupy. And we have abundant occasion to believe that 
the favor of God will be upon us in our efforts to sustain the 
institutions of religion upon this spot where they have for so 
long a time been planted. 

It is worthy of mention, that, from an early period to the 
present time, there have always been persons connected with 
this organization who have been very active and efficient in 
promoting its interests. There has never failed to be found 
in the parish a succession of capable men, fitted to manage its 
affairs, and thoroughly engaged in their purpose to maintain 
and strengthen it ; and of women also, in all those important 
concerns that belong peculiarly to their charge, the like has 
certainly been true in these later years, if not from the first. 
It is to be hoped that the succession may never fail. 



The hour admonishes me that this review of the history of 
our parish and church must end.* It is not, indeed, its deep- 
est and most real history that can, in this manner, be traced. 
The progress of life with man is not most truly down the 
course of the stream of time, as it runs in our view from age 
to age. It is across that stream, and upon the land that lies 
beyond. To that main land of life the members of all our 
earthly communities are swiftly passing. The history of a 
church, and of an order of Christian ministry, can only be 

* The address, as given upon the day of the commemoration, followed the course 
of the parish history upon a closer and narrower line than in the enlargement, 
as here printed ; being substantially the same for such parts as were taken in 
hand. It occupied a little less than an hour and a half in delivery. 



176 HISTORY OF 

known by the aid it has rendered in the fitting of men for the 
journey toward it and the endless habitation upon it. 

The work of a church in the present time, and in its influ- 
ences on human society, may yet be of great and incalculable 
importance. In these respects we may believe that the office 
of the church and the ministry of the word of God in this 
place have not wholly failed. We find occasion, indeed, of 
warning, but far more of thankfulness and hope. These cen- 
turies of this Christian society have passed like a day, heavy 
and darkened with storms on its early morning, but with many 
soon following hours of reviving sunlight. It is far yet, we 
do not doubt, from the brightness of the perfect day. Neither 
in the lives nor preaching of its members or pastors, has 
it ever arrived at the full ideal of the Christian state. We 
recognize with thankfulness, as well as with humility, these 
possibilities and obligations of further attainment. We rejoice 
in the higher standard ever before us in the word and life of 
the Son of God. We think thankfully also of ourselves as 
only one among the many companies of those whose aim it is 
to honor and follow the same Lord. We are gladdened by all 
the prosperity of our sister, our daughter churches, and in 
all the growth of the kingdom of God in the world. We trust 
only that this our church may stand, with all these its friendly 
and helping companions around it, until that kingdom is set 
up in the fulness of its earthly grace and glory. 

For what these gospel ordinances have here wrought, that 
is reaching already beyond the bounds of time, — we can only 
in part discern it. The Christian faith has not failed here to 
make proof of its divine origin, and its power to the final sal- 
vation of the soul. It has been heard and accepted in a peni- 
tence and love, and newness of life, that have their natural and 
befitting issue, by the power of God, in the perfect and ever- 
lasting righteousness of the redeemed. There have gone from 
us in former times, we may not doubt, into the holiness and 
bliss of heaven, many of those whose names the most of us 
have never learned to speak. Others, in the same hope, have 



THE FIRST PARISH IN DANVERS. 177 

left US but lately, whose names we might not need to speak, 
— Putnam, Preston, Lawrence ; and of these names more 
than one, and of others many, that might be added, — seem- 
ing yet scarcely to be separated from our communion on 
earth, and from these gatherings of our solemn and grateful 
commemoration. They will not return to us. It is in our 
most precious trust, that we may shortly be joined with them, 
and with the sacred assembly of which they form a part. 

We stand with them upon the ancient faith, and in this 
tested hope of the- Christian revelation. And thus to-day, with 
the memories here revived of all this fleeting past, encom- 
passed by the failing generations of mankind, — and failing 
ourselves with them, — we keep this hope, which is not mor- 
tal, and which the wasting time has no more of power against 
than to make short the hours that withhold its fulfilment from 
us. The fathers and the mothers, and all that were before us, 
in their earthly succession are gone, as the grass of the fields 
they tilled : but the word of the Lord still lives, with its 
color and blossom of endless promise on it ; and this is the 
word which here by the gospel has been preached unto 

YOU. 



DINNER, AND ADDRESSES FOLLOWING. 



179 



ADDRESSES AND LETTERS. 



At the close of the historical address, upon the day of the 
commemoration, after the singing of an anthem by the choir, 
Dea. Samuel Preston, chairman of the general committee of 
arrangements, and president of the day, made a brief welcom- 
ing address. He expressed the pleasure with which he wit- 
nessed the coming together, notwithstanding the unfavorable 
weather, of so many of our friends to join in the celebration 
of the two hundredth anniversary of this Christian society. He 
spoke of the interest with which he believed they had listened 
to the narrative of its early trials and struggles, as well as to 
the story of its later and more prosperous days. And, refer- 
ring to the need they must feel of bodily refreshment, he invited 
them to proceed to the Village Hall, below, for that purpose. 

Here the committee of entertainment, assisted by the ladies 
of the parish, had prepared a most elegant and beautiful 
repast. It is not believed that it could have been surpassed, 
even on the memorable occasion of the ordination of Dr. 
Wadsworth. 

The storm abroad, in the mean time, was somewhat abating ; 
and the assembly, which had been increasing in size from the 
opening of the morning service, had grown to be krge as we 
returned, at two o'clock in the afternoon, to the audience-room 
of the meeting-house. 

The president took the chair, and introduced the various 
speakers, whose addresses are herewith given in the order of 
their occurrence.* There was also singing at intervals by the 

* These addresses are printed from MSS. furnished by the speakers in all 
cases, except where special statement is made to the contrary. 

i8i 



l82 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

choir ; and the reading of letters, of which further account 
will be given. 

Address of Rev. John Pike, D.D., of Rowley. 

The object of this day is to remember the past. No man 
will here be called an " old fogy " if he neglects the present, 
or even somewhat depreciates it, that he may magnify the 
days that are gone. Wendell Phillips would probably give 
one-half his earnings if he could always have such a day as 
this in which to deliver his celebrated lecture on the " Lost 
Arts." 

The life of a people is closely associated with the character 
of its ministry. Hence it is natural for us to give a large 
portion of our thought to those ministers with whom your past 
has been honored. The history of your Clark is familiar to 
those who have kept themselves acquainted with the distin- 
guished men of Essex County. I should like to have been 
present at the " winter evenings in Salisbury," and seen the 
downcast faces and mortified hearts which the argument he 
sent thither upon the " Doctrine of Original Sin " would nat- 
urally produce. The reputation of your Wadsworth is, that 
he was a florid writer, which was quite a distinction in an age 
when flowers were as rare in the pulpit as they are now abun- 
. dant within and around it. With your last two pastors I have 
been personally and happily acquainted. They need no com- 
ment from me, being an " epistle known and read in all the 
churches " for intelligent thought and correct statements of 
Christian truth. I knew a clergyman who came from his 
study one morning with a long face and a distressed heart, 
and said to his wife that he wished there could be a pump in- 
vented to pump out ideas. The quick-witted lady replied that 
she thought the pump most wanted was one to pump them in. 
These ministers of yours have needed no machinery for either 
of these valuable purposes. Ideas lie in their brain as in their 
native bed ; and the avenue through which they have gone 
forth to the world has been always forcible. The " trumpet " 
here has given no " uncertain sound." 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 183 

The people of *' old Salem Village " have been widely known. 
The exceptions to their honorable history ought to be chari- 
tably considered. Many who have criticised them severely 
have forgotten the saying, " There is no man that doeth good 
and sinneth not ; " and will find a hard fate if the Scripture 
should be fulfilled in their case, " With what measure you 
mete, it shall be measured to you again." Parris, your fourth 
minister, was probably no more to blame than Cotton Mather. 
He certainly entered into many of the transactions of " witch- 
craft," by a decree of the courts which he would not feel 
authorized to neglect. Witchcraft was a disease of the age, 
as common in the Church of England as in the Church 
of the Puritans. Clergymen, governors, judges, jurors, phy- 
sicians, were so involved, that it is idle to separate one man, 
and make him a " scapegoat " for the rest. Their strange 
course has, at least, this charitable solution : that they rever- 
ently bowed to the word of God ; and, not detecting the line 
which He who " spake as never man spake " had drawn be- 
tween the ceremonial and moral of the old dispensation, were 
left to certain acts which' the pious heart generally will disown, 
and which they soon disowned themselves. Our Puritan an- 
cestry have not been perfect ; but they have certainly been 
the fountains of as noble a government, and as pure a religion, 
as the earth ever had. Their modes of life will sometimes be 
trifled with as simple, and sometimes condemned as doubtful. 
But because they wore uncouth garments, and laid out their 
villages so that modern taste cannot correct them, and built 
their houses fronting toward the fields, and with a roof run- 
ning so low that they had hardly a " sky-light " view of the 
passing traveller, and preferred their sanded rooms to a car- 
peted parlor, and the shining pewter upon their walls to our 
elegant mirrors and rich pictures, I will never forget the noble 
minds and pure hearts that those villages contained and those 
roofs covered ; which, like the stream from Ezekiel's temple, 
might seem at first view only ankle-deep, but which soon 
swelled into a river, that no one could pass, and filled the 
earth with verdure and fruitfulness. 

The age in which we live has been called " fast ; " and cer- 



l84 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

tainly the epithet is deserved. ' Every one is on the wing; and 
but few stop to inquire what we are gaining, and what we are 
losing. The Germans used to say that there was always a 
clearing or breathing-time after every new school of philosophy, 
in which they summed up the gains and losses. When will 
the breathing-time of America come, that we can sit down 
quietly to inquire what we have gained by our speculations 
in philosophy and religion .'' Dead matter seems to en- 
gross the attention of the world. Perhaps the day may come 
when the Psalmist's expression will be more fully realized, 
that we are " fearfully and wonderfully made ; " and Galen's 
idea more deeply felt, that " the human frame is a hymn to the 
Almighty ; " and Pope's sentiment more closely sympathized 
with, " The proper study of mankind is man." When the 
happy day arrives, that God is placed far above and beyond 
the earth upon which we tread and the skies upon which we 
look, and every scientific man will be ashamed to suggest that 
this wonderful universe has originated from the unthinking 
movements of its own globules, and that the- men upon it, 
once said to be a little lower than the angels, are only the de- 
velopment of brutal form, thought, and feeling, — then will the 
saying be realized again, " The morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy." 

Address of Allen Putnam, Esq., of Boston. 

My invitation to say a few words here to-day involved a hint 
that personal reminiscences of this spot and its appendages 
would be acceptable. I shall comply in part. To avoid the 
danger of duplicating what other gleaners on the parish com- 
mon might bring before you, I sent memory off on a solitary 
stroll to see if she couldn't pick up something which no one 
else would be likely to find. She soon brought back this 
experience. 

Once upon a time my sister Emma, two years older than 
myself, was led over to this spot by the " hired help " in the 
family ; and she took home and gave to me the most sparkling 
gems my young eyes had ever seen. Memory beholds them 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 185 

now, sparkling just as brightly as they did when first pulled 
out from my sister's pocket in the eastern yard of our old 
family mansion, about ten feet, more or less, south from the 
outer door leading to either the sitting-room or parlor of 
brother William's house. Mechanics had been using metal 
upon the Nciv Brick meeting-house ; and my precious gems 
vere some bright, "bran-new" sparkling scraps which had 
been clipped off by the tinman's shears. They were unfading 
beauties, — "joys forever," — and look just as bright to-day as 
they did sixty-six years ago. I have brought them here as my 
contribution to this parish collection of native products. Look 
at them, — the beauties. If you can't see them, it is only be- 
cause you don't look through my eyes. They are here : / see 
them just as surely as I do any one of you. And they whisper 
in my ear that human vision is a faculty of marvellous capa- 
bilities and operations ; that it is ever robing in cJiangiug hues 
our judgments, faiths, and feelings, and is thus causing us to 
be ever differing one from another in our estimates of intrinsic 
values, and also to be ever changing our own estimates of the 
wortli of many things we know or possess. Led by vision, 
one prizes a scrap of tin much more highly when only four 
years old than he does when three score and four. So, too, 
many a belief or notion valued highly in early life seems little 
more than tinsel at three score and ten. It is a law of human 
life, that man — spiritual man — shall be ever growing, and 
ever outgrowing himself ; that growths and outgrowings are 
essential steps in any healthful progress ; that man must for- 
get many things that are behind, when he wisely presses toward 
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God upon him. 

I limit my offering of personal reminiscences to tliat one 
tin plate of thin soup, hoping thereby to whet your appetites , 
for more substantial things I am holding back, — things it 
would give me keen pleasure to contribute plentifully to your 
collation now, did they not require more table-room than cour- 
tesy allows me to cover. She restricts me to a bare sample. 

Far other than the ordinary events of parish history at once 
crowded in upon my brain when I began to consider what I could 
say to you to-day ; and I will not hold myself back from hinting 



l86 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

at what seem to me much more important than the solicited 
personal reminiscences. The oncoming of this memorial cel- 
ebration awakened in me a strong desire to delve the darkness 
of New England's blackest night, and to report here and now 
upon its more latent causes, its intrinsic character, and its ult - 
mate results, — to do what I could to " justify the ways of Gcd 
to man." If any of you will arrange for a meeting here within 
a few weeks, I will gladly come and spend an hour in my best 
possible efforts to show that the scenes of zvitcJicraft may have 
been the most widely and deeply beneficent, and therefore 
intrinsically, the brightest of any in all your parish annals. If 
my wish is gratified, your record of this day's doings will con- 
tain mention of the fact that one septuagenarian/ born and 
bred on this witchcraft soil, feels conscious, that the out- 
growth from seed planted in him here while yet a lad, con- 
joined with the world's general advance in knowledge of 
recondite natural forces and laws, and also with observation 
and study of marvellous phenomena in modern times, may con- 
stitute a torch whose rays can deeply penetrate the dreaded 
darkness, which, resting here for nine score years, has be- 
wildered the eyes that looked upon it, making itself appear to 
them as a hideous monument of mnrderons public phrensy, 

— as an obtrusive remembrancer of what many of you would 
gladly consign to the deepest pits of oblivion, — a torch which 
may show that the mysterious phenomena of witchcraft here 
were the productions of natural forces, laws, instrumentalities, 
and processes, — used in part by unseen human intelligences 
under God's providence, — which in 1692 began to clear, and 
have ever since been clearing, ways for mankind's more ready 
advancement to freer fields of thought, of sentiment, and of 
action, — a torch which may show that the tenacious fidelity 
and devotion of hero and martyr to the full requirements of 
their own faith and the world's faith, however stern and exact- 
ing, commenced the deliverance of broad Christendom from 
dire subjection to many wide-spread, hellish, and blood-shedding 
witchcraft-dogmas, laws, penalties, and processes of legal trial, 

— a torch which may show that the little resolute band of 
Devil-fierhters here in the wilderness became, though all un- 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 187 

willingly, yet became most efficient helpers in gaining lib- 
erty for the freer action of things nobler than any creed, — for 
the freer action of reason and luinianity at the tribunals of 
justice throughout all Christian lands ; may show, that, by their 
unprecedented and o'erstrenuous obedience to its own rigid 
behests, they ruptured the vitals of the bloody tyrant whom 
they and the Christian world were ignorantly serving, — show 
that the dreaded blackness here is a tombstone marking the 
resting-place of witchcraft's own mouldered remains. Its in- 
human statutes were here developed into such monstrosities, 
that the world stood aghast at them, — shrunk from them in 
horror, — and caused that the places that had known them for 
long centuries have never known them since, and make it our 
privilege to be standing here to-day on modern witchcraft's 
verdant grave. One heart in this assembly feels that the soil 
of this parish — that this witchcraft battle-ground — might 
fittingly sustain a lofty and enduring monument to that terrific 
struggle here, which soon partially evolved world-wide mental 
and spiritual emancipation, and still beckons onward to ever 
widenins: freedom. 



Address of Judge Mellen Chamberlain of Boston, 

Mr. Chairman, — I cheerfully respond to your call ; though 
I was hardly expecting it at so early an hour, as I am neither 
native nor citizen of this ancient town. For three winters, 
when a member of Dartmouth College, I taught school in one 
of your districts, and during those years formed many pleasant 
acquaintances, one of which ripened into closer intimacy, and 
finally resulted in marriage, with a daughter of one of your 
townsmen. To this circumstance it is owing that I am with 
you to-day ; but not, let me say, with the same feeling that 
animates the bosom of the native-born, returning after years 
of absence. Their feelings I fully understand, though I do 
not share them at this hour and in this place. But there is a 
quiet little town on the banks of the Merrimac, in Central 
New Hampshire, every sod of which becomes quickened be- 
neath my revisiting footstep ; for there my eyes first beheld 



l88 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

the light of day, and " night clad in the beauty of a thousand 
stars." Every tree, every house, in that old town, and every 
feature of its landscape, are dear to me as these are to you ; 
and, whenever I find myself among them, tears unbidden will 
flow, and the heart is agitated with the old emotion. And 
even now, when far away from the scenes of my childhood, 
memory recalls them, and not without deep feeling ; for 

" Our river by its valley-born 
Was never yet forgotten." 

If to-day I cannot fully enter into all your joys and sorrows, 
I am at least an interested listener to all that is said. We 
are citizens of the same State, or, at all removes, of the same 
country ; and this instinctive love of locality, which so moves 
you here to-day, and all of us somewhere, is, when diffused, 
that love of our common country which we call patriotism. 
We love the spot that gave us birth ; and this sentiment, 
strengthening with the unfolding years, finally embraces the 
whole country within the circle of a common affection. 
Animated by this sentiment, as a citizen of Massachusetts, 
and somewhat more, recalling, as I now do, the many sabbaths 
I have sat in this sacred place, I am glad to be present on this 
occasion. 

The two centuries behind us have witnessed an experiment 
perhaps without its essential parallel in history. At this hour 
the result of that experiment confronts us, and we are required 
to estimate its magnitude. 

Our ancestors came to this soil ; and the descendants of 
some of them still cultivate the same acres which the first 
emigrants, with painful toil, reclaimed from the primitive 
wilderness. Those first men were of a hardy, vigorous race, 
with uncommon aptitude for colonization. They were as in- 
telligent and as moral as any community of men and women 
of those times, — perhaps of any time. The soil on which 
they settled required and repaid industrious cultivation. They 
were a well-to-do people. No inheritance of poverty was 
theirs. They left the burdens of the old country behind them 
when they crossed the ocean. Once settled on this soil, " no 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 189 

hungry generations trod them down." For them there was a 
new start in hfe, and, upon the whole, under most favorable, 
material circumstances. It is also to be noted that they were 
a free people, who had been taught civil and religious liberty 
in the same school as Milton and Cromwell. No feudal sys- 
tem interfered with the rights of person, and no complicated 
law of tenures obstructed the accumulation or diffusion of 
property. In a word, they entered upon these centuries which 
we are now reviewing, with an unencumbered soil, civil and 
religious liberty, social equality, a free State, a free church, 
an open Bible, and the common school. 

What more would the most enthusiastic believer in human 
advancement require .-' What condition of success did our 
ancestors lack } And now the question of main interest to 
us returns : What is the result of this experiment .-* Success, 
beyond question, in every material interest ; and, leaving out 
of the account the generation of men and women now on the 
stage, perhaps because it is wise, and certainly because it is 
modest so to do, I think the experiment was a marked success 
in training a community of high intellectual and moral culture, 
possessing in a special degree that combination of qualities 
which we call character. At least, I have been accustomed to 
think that Essex County, at the commencement, say, of the 
second century, and as the result of its discipline during the 
first, entered upon an epoch of almost unexampled brilliancy in 
the history of the English race. Observe how the men of 
those days projected their influence beyond the limits of their 
county, and of the State itself. Recall silently — for I will 
not stop to mention them — the long list of names, — 

" On fame's eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed," — 

which, in theology, jurisprudence, science, and statesmanship, 
have illustrated and adorned your annals. Where upon this 
continent, but in Essex, did commerce receive its first im- 
pulse, and secure its most substantial results.'' Who earlier, 
or more resolutely, than the men of Essex, met the shock of 
the great revolution which severed an empire ; or exercised a 
greater formative or controlling influence upon the govern- 



190 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

ment which succeeded ? What men, but your fathers and 
their neighbors of adjacent towns, met England on the deep, 
and secured our commercial freedom, and for our navy gained 
imperishable renown ? Certainly the second century of your 
history is grand and almost epical. 

But I have not recalled it altogether, nor chiefly, for congrat- 
ulation ; but simply to ask, standing as we now do at the 
threshold of a new century, what are we to do with all this 
priceless inheritance of intellectual and moral wealth, and all 
these precious memories of the past, which are cast into our 
laps ? Shall we transmit them unimpaired ? Shall we cause 
this great estate, which has fallen to our management, to yield 
its just increase of intellectual power, general culture, good 
morals, and widely diffused happiness ? Is the experiment 
which yielded such grand results in the second century, to fail 
in the third, — to fail with us ? 

Our a!ncestors had their problem : we have ours. It was 
theirs to subdue a wilderness, and erect a State, to organize 
civil communities, to found free churches and free schools. 
It is ours to perfect, adorn and transmit unimpaired, these 
priceless blessings. They did their work well. Ours remains. 
And we 'should remember that events unfold more rapidly 
with us than with them. Causes operate and results mature 
in briefer periods in these days than in the former. Long 
before the lapse of two other centuries, the hopes of man in 
free government will either be sadly frustrated or fully 
realized on this soil. Failing here, self-government will be 
likely to fail everywhere ; and, succeeding here, men may be 
encouraged to expect happier days for less favored communi- 
ties. 

I am well aware that there is nothing novel in this line of 
thought. Our past is full of such questions ; and, on such 
occasions as this, they will and should force themselves upon 
our attention ; and it matters little whose voice gives utter- 
ance to feelings which pervade all bosoms. The past is 
secure ; but many thoughtful people, while they find much for 
encouragement in respect to the future, are not wholly without 
solicitude. May we of this generation discover the work 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 191 

which belongs to us, and have strength and wisdom to per- 
form it as well as our ancestors performed their work ! 

Address of Rev. Alfred P. Putnam, D.D., of 

Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Friends, — It is with feelings of j^eculiar pleasure and satis- 
faction that I respond to the kind invitation of the committee 
to participate in the celebration of the two hundredth anniver- 
sary of the establishment of this society. As I have glanced 
at the pages of your Church Manual, I have been more forcibly 
than ever reminded how many and how sacred are the ties 
that connect me here. Among the original members of this 
church were some of my earliest ancestors in this country. 
John Putnam, who in 1634 came from England to America, 
with his three sons, Thomas, Nathaniel, and John, and settled 
in Salem Village, had died when this society was separated 
from the Firs.t Church in Salem. The three sons, however, 
survived him, and were among the first to organize the new 
parish. The descendants of Nathaniel, my progenitor, con- 
tinued to worship on this spot for successive generations ; and 
I suppose that I might in some good way claim as my cousins 
the whole " wilderness " of Putnams here, as Father Taylor 
would call them. In the list of deacons presented in the 
Manual referred to, I see the name of Edmund Putnam, who 
died in 18 10, at the age of eighty-six, and who was my great- 
grandfather. Among those who joined the church in 1832 was 
my mother, who still remains with us, having passed beyond the 
limit of fourscore years ; and of those who joined it in 1851, 
was one who walked with me in my early wedded life, but who 
has long since gone before. Nor would I forget the name of 
the first Mrs. Nathan Tapley, who, as the teacher of an infant 
class, here gave me the earliest instruction in Bible and cate- 
chism which I ever received in the church of Christ. 

It was about this time, while I was yet a little boy, that an 
incident occurred which shows how kindly you have been dis- 
posed to care for those who go astray. One Sunday after the 
service was ended, I marched out of the church in advance of 



192 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

my older sisters, and, confident of my sufficient acquaintance 
with the homeward route, trudged on with the crowd that 
proceeded towards the turnpike. As my attendants dropped, 
one by one, into their homes along the way, until I was left 
quite alone, I dimly remember how I began to look about 
me, and to feel that the road, and objects on either side, had a 
startlingly unfamiliar aspect. In short, I was getting to be 
considerably frightened, when a good friend who knew me, 
and had followed me with gracious intentions, thinking I was 
wandering on in the wrong direction, came up to me, and, 
having found that it was just as he supposed, took me home. 
He struck a bee-line for my father's house, crossing the hills 
and fields, leading me when I was able to walk, and bearing 
me on his shoulders when I was tired. I need not say that I 
was heartily welcomed by the anxious ones at the old homestead ; 
nor need I say how grateful I have always felt to Mr. Moses 
Prince, who rendered me this very timely service in my child- 
hood. I am glad to see him here to-day ; but I somewhat 
doubt whether he would be as willing now, as he was then, to 
carry me on his back over Lindall's Hill. 

How well I remember the old brick meeting-house ; remem- 
ber how twice a Sunday long processions of carriages, laden 
with devout worshippers, rolled along all the roads that here 
converge, and poured their living currents of humanity into 
the venerable structure ; how, oh ! sweetest, sacredest recol- 
lection of life, I used to nestle as a little child at my mother's 
side, as she sat in the house of God ; how I was wont to look up 
at the minister, and fear that at any moment the sounding-board 
might drop, and extinguish him utterly; how, at the other end 
of the church, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Berry, the Miss Clarks, 
and many others, sang the good old hymns we shall never for- 
get ; how patiently the great congregation stood through what 
is oftentimes rather significantly called " the long prayer," at 
the end of which they filled the spacious building with a great 
clatter, by letting fall the lifted lids of their uncushioned' 
seats ; how the big boys in the galleries, hidden away in high, 
square pews, disturbed the worship of the hour by a still 
more unendurable racket ; and how it was necessary at times 



OF THE celebration: 193 

to awe these incorrigible offenders, by sending among them 
the dreaded tithingman. 

What able, interesting, eloquent sermons it was the privilege 
of this society to hear from Dr. Braman in that old brick 
church, and afterward in this edifice which was erected on its 
site. Many a text from which he preached when I was a boy, 
I well remember still, while, what is more, the deep impression 
made upon my mind by the discourses themselves has never 
been lost. It has been my privilege to listen to many an in- 
structive and powerful preacher ; but I can hardly name one of 
them whose pulpit ministrations evinced such rare originality 
of thought, scholarly research, intimate acquaintance with the 
heart of man and w^th the experiences of the spiritual life, as 
did his. And who, that heard them, can ever forget the 
famous occasional sermons which Dr. Braman was accustomed 
to give on Fast and Thanksgiving Days, when Intelligent and 
influential persons came, not only from all parts of Danvers, 
but from other towns as well, to listen to what he had to say 
about the various social, political, and reform questions of the 
day ; or about, it might be, the virtues and sacrifices of the 
forefathers, and the customs and institutions of dear New 
England } Danvers has never had a better preacher than the 
immediate predecessor of the present worthy incumbent of 
this pastoral office ; and I shall always regard it as one of the 
highest privileges of my earlier life, that I was permitted on 
so many occasions to hear his voice. 

Two hundred years, of what eventful and thrilling history, 
of what consecrated toil and immortal harvests ! Scarcely any 
other church in the country has so interesting and affecting 
a record as this. If, in the early time, that record was darkened 
with accounts of superstitious beliefs and tragic scenes, yet, 
in subsequent periods, it was illumined with the growing light 
of truth and peace. Through all the years that have elapsed 
since this society was established, how many good and faithful 
soiMs have worshipped here, and have gone to their reward .-* 
Godly men and saintly women, — not a few, -^ who were an 
honor and blessing to the community in which they lived, and 
who are now with God, here learned the lessons -of duty and 
13 



194 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

the way of salvation ; here prayed and sang, rejoiced and sor- 
rowed, loved and served together ; here bequeathed as they 
departed, to those who should come after them, a Christian 
example and a precious memory. May their successors be as 
faithful to the light and opportunities of to-day, and of com- 
ing time, as were those who have thus preceded us in the 
march of life to the light and opportunities which God 
vouchsafed to them. 

Bless God that increasing light is ever pouring down upon 
us all. and will to the end of time. "The Lord has more 
truth yet to break forth out of his holy word." It is just as 
true now as it was when John Robinson of Leyden said it two 
and a half centuries ago. We have outgrown many an error 
and superstition which our fathers who first worshipped here 
regarded as most important truth. Much that we deem 
to be important truth now may also appear as error or super- 
stition to those who shall, two hundred years hence, stand in 
our places. Things, moreover, which we to-day hold to be 
false, may sooner or later be revealed to us, or those who 
shall follow us, as true. While some of us need to go forward 
to accept the new, others may need to go back to take up not a 
little of the old, which they have left behind. We shall all, I 
believe, meet finally on a common ground, and see eye to eye, 
reverencing alike the word of God, and loving with equal de- 
votion the Lord Jesus Christ, — members together of the 
same great fold on earth, and heirs together at last of the 
same heavenly glory. 

Address of Mr. Granville B. Putnam, Master of the 
Franklin School of Boston. 

Mr. President and Friends, — Like many a New-Eng- 
land boy living away from his birthplace and the home of his 
infancy, I was accustomed, year by year, to retwrn to the old 
homestead, to meet with grandfather and grandmother, with 
uncles, aunts, and cousins, to enjoy that time-honored festival. 
Thanksgiving. I remember, as I recall those days, that my 
thoughts, both in anticipation and in retrospect, were of tur- 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 195 

key, of chicken-pic, and plum-puckling, not forgetting the 
bhndman's Ixiff in the evening ; but as years passed on, and 
we missed, one after another, the famihar forms and loved 
faces of dear ones called from earth, my thoughts were less of 
the good things of the table, and more of the kind words, the 
generous deeds, and Christian life, of the departed. So to- 
day, as we gather, some of us from distant homes, our thoughts 
are not chiefly of the collation so bountifully provided and so 
gracefully served by the ladies, but rather of the devoted piety 
and Christian heroism of godly men and women who labored 
here in the Master's cause. 

While recalling the early history of the church, let us not 
forget the origin of the sabbath school, whose fiftieth anniver- 
sary was celebrated two years since. I call upon you to honor 
the memory of Joanna Prince and Hannah Hill of Beverly, 
who, in 1 8 10, gathered together the children of their neigh- 
bors, for religious and moral instruction upon the sabbath day ; 
thus inaugurating a system of sabbath-school instruction in 
this region. Honor to the memory of their friend Betsey F. 
Putnam, who, imbued with their spirit, originated in 18 18 the 
" Danvers Sabbath School Village Society." * Nor would we 
forget the names of those who joined with her in this good 
work. On that 30th of July, when this society was formed, 
there were present Edwin Jocelyn, Samuel Preston (who has 
been spared to preside on this occasion), Betsey Putnam, 
Hannah Putnam, Harriet Putnam, Nancy Putnam, Clarissa 
Putnam, Edith Swinerton, Betsey Pope, Eliza Putnam, and 
Eliza Preston. On the 9th of August the school was opened ; 
and eternity alone can reveal the good accomplished by these 
first teachers and their successors for more than a half-cen- 
tury. 

I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without mention of 



* Miss Betsey F. Putnam brought from her friends at Beverly to tliis place 
the idea of a sabbath school, and assisted at its formation. She is not to be 
confounded with Betsey, sigter of Hannah Putnam. These two ladies last 
named, who were also teachers in the public schools, were foremost in efliciency, 
if not in the very opening of the school, yet in its establishment and mainte- 
nance through all its earlier years. — R. 



196 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

the debt of gratitude I owe to him,* who for thirty-six years 
was the pastor of this church, and whose name is recorded 
there. His hand was laid upon my brow in baptism. From 
his hps I heard, so faithfully presented sabbath after sabbath, 
those great truths which make wise unto salvation. Week by 
week, without any adequate compensation, he directed my 
studies in preparation for college ; and more thai\ all, when, 
seeking relief from a burden of sin, I had waded for two 
miles amid the darkness and the storm through the deepening 
snow to seek his guidance, with a faithfulness and a tender- 
ness I shall never forget, he pointed me to the Crucified One. 
Who of us cannot testify to the wonderful power of many of 
the sermons preached by him from this desk } Although the 
printer's type has preserved but few of them, they will never 
pass from the tablets of memory. 

Mention was made in the address of the morning of young 
people's meetings held more than a century ago. I would bring 
to your mind those of a more recent date. In the spring of 1857 
a little company of five or six, most of whom had just found 
the Saviour, met at the house of Dea. Elijah Hutchinson ; 
and, after a brief season of prayer, we resolved to invite the 
young people of the parish to meet each week for social wor- 
ship. The invitation was cordially accepted ; and, accom- 
panied I doubt not by the Holy Spirit, we met for a time from 
house to house ; but our numbers soon increased to such an 
extent, that we were obliged to gather in the chapel. I re- 
joice to know that thfese meetings have been continued, with- 
out interruption, to this day, and that the blessing of God 
has evidently rested upon them. 

Did time permit, I would gladly speak of those Saturday- 
evening meetings held for years in District No. 4. To the 
late Stephen Driver, that devoted Christian worker, were we 
deeply indebted for their origin and continuance ; and I doubt 
not that he has already united in the music of heaven with 
some who, through his instrumentality, learned to sing the 
New Song. 

But while we would dwell upon the past, and tell its story, 

* Rev. Milton P. Eraman, D.D. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 197 

let us not forget the lesson taught us by this clay, and the two 
hundred years which it commemorates. When the great 
Napoleon, in his effort to strike a blow at the British power in 
India, had gathered his troops within sight of those wonders 
of the desert, he was confronted by a hostile army of Mame- 
lukes, which disputed his progress. To inspire valor in the 
hearts of his men, he exclaimed, " Soldiers ! from yonder pyra- 
mids forty centuries look down upon you." The wearied and 
dispirited ranks were electrified by the thought ; and a bril- 
liant victory was gained by the French army. It is true, 
indeed, that not forty centuries are looking upon us to-day, for 
we live in an age when ten years are doing the work of a by- 
gone century ; but two hundred years are looking upon us, 
and the thought should inspire us to achieve a glorious tri- 
umph for the cause of the great Captain. 

In 1820 Daniel Webster, standing by the rock of Plymouth, 
and speaking of those who a hundred years hence should com- 
memorate the landing of the Pilgrims, said, " We would leave 
for the consideration of those who shall then occupy our 
places, some proof that we hold the blessings transmitted 
from our fathers in just estimation ; some proof of our attach- 
ment to the cause of good government and of civil and reli- 
gious liberty." We would catch the spirit of the sentiment 
uttered by the great orator at Plymouth, and see to it that 
the record of this day shall witness to those who shall cele- 
brate the three hundredth anniversary of this church, that 
we are not unmindful of the blessings which we inherit, that 
we love the faith of the fathers, and that we adore the Puri- 
tan's God. 



The next speaker was Rev. James Brand, pastor of the 
Majole-street Church, of whose remarks I have not been able 
to procure a full report. He spoke with warmth of the affec- 
tion felt for the First Church by the church of which he was 
pastor. He alluded to its age, as running back one hundred 
and four years beyond the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and one hundred and one years beyond the Boston 



198 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

Tea-party.* He proceeded to speak with force of the refor- 
matory power of the Christian gospel, as preached in these 
New-England churches, and of its wholesome* influence upon 
society and upon the institutions of government. He declared 
also his faith in the present age, his confidence in its powers 
of life and progress, and his firm expectation of future times 
at hand, not worse than the past, but better than any that have 
gone before. 

Address of Rev. Hiram B. Putnam of West 
Concord, N.H.f ■ 

Mr. Chairman, — We are all at school to-day, learning from 
the past ; and the very way in which we are conducting these 
exercises is an unconscious tribute to the past. The spirit of 
the old-time days and the old-time preachers is upon us ; for 
we keep the same theme all day. This morning we had the 
text and argument ; this afternoon we are having the " im- 
provements ; " just the method of Dr. Emmons and others 
of his day. Not that we need improve the excellent discourse 
of the morning, or improve upon it : we are trying to improve 
by it. That suggested histories and memories which we are 
following out a little more fully. That was a picture of the 
past sketched in outline, but of necessity not filled out in all 
details. As we bring our individual reminiscences, we are 
only letting in a little more light upon parts of the canvas, 
where the interest of one .and another specially attaches, and 

* This reference to the Boston Tea-party leads me, though beyond the exact 
limit of this history, to a notice of a most pleasant observance of the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of that memorable occurrence, Dec. 16, 1873, ^ Village 
Hall. The hall was filled with tables, separated from each other, and each 
under the charge of one of the ladies of the parish, who furnished it in antique 
style, and who presided over the group that gathered about it. A choice com- 
pany was assembled from all the societies and peighborhoods of the town. There 
was historic and other speech-making, and much flow of wit with social inter- 
course ; and the occasion altogether was rare and enjoyable. 

Though no longer at the centre of the town, the old parish still claims a certain 
right, on these days that look to the past, of calling as children to the ancient 
homestead all the families upon its original soil. And the chiHren have not 
seemed unwilling to answer the call. 

t Installed pastor of the Tabernacle Church, Salem, Dec. 31, 1S73. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 199 

bringing out in a little more prominence figures about which 
our memory lingers. We are taking up the threads of our 
present ecclesiastical history, and tracing them back through 
these past two centuries to their very beginning. We are try- 
ing to weave or reproduce the pattern of the past. The zvai'p 
we had in the historical sketch of the morning ; the zvoof, or 
filling-in, we are furnishing now, as memory and history sup- 
ply us. 

And, sir, we do well to stand with backward gaze to-day, 
drawing our inspirations from the past, thus consecrating the 
clay. But we do better not to stay in the past. We want to 
connect the past with the present ; to be instructed from the 
past, and from its lessons get wisdom for the future. I trust, 
therefore, it is not from curiosity only, or with the spirit of the 
antiquary or relic-hunter merely, that we turn back the pages 
6f our history, revive these memories, and bring out these 
reminiscences to-day. We are taking this survey of what has 
gone, that we may find the formative, moulding influences 
of earlier years, which have helped make us what we are to- 
day. The history of the church in this place, the preaching 
of the gospel here, during these last two hundred years, have 
had more to do than we can reckon in producing the thrift 
and culture, and elevated Christian sentiment, that character- 
ize the homes of this neighborhood to-day. While we acknowl- 
edge the mistakes of the past, we ought gratefully to recog- 
.nize, on this occasion, the helps of the past. 

Among the educating, formative influences of our more 
recent past history, is the ministry of Rev. Dr. Braman. 
Yoiu- committee have suggested that I say a word on this sub- 
ject. We had hoped almost to the last, that Dr. Braman would 
be here to-day, by his presence and words to give an added 
.interest to our anniversary. In his absence we can at least 
make grateful acknowledgment of his very able and faithful 
service in a long pastorate among this people. It will not be 
expected of me, in these few moments allowed me, to give a 
full historic sketch of that pastorate, or to attempt any ex- 
haustive description or analysis of the talents and pulpit 
power of our former pastor. Even if I could give you full de- 



200 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

tails of the outward features of that ministry, if I had the exact 
dates and figures, — could tell you just how many sermons he 
preached to this people, on how many occasions he acted in 
an official capacity outside the pulpit, how many addresses 
and lectures he gave here and elsewhere, — all this would be no 
true or satisfying measure of the real service which he ren- 
dered us. And I am sure we could never get these figures 
from him. He never made a parade of such statistics. He 
was also very chary of giving his sermons for publication. He 
shrank from any notoriety from the press ; and in only a very 
few instances could he be persuaded to allow his manuscript 
to go into the printer's hands. One of his Thanksgiving ser- 
mons, a sermon on the Mexican War, an election sermon, and 
the discourse delivered at the dedication of this house, were 
published. But, if we could reckon all the intellectual and 
moral and spiritual quickening which this people received 
under the the preaching of Dr. Braman for nearly forty years, 
— if it were possible to follow out and gather up such results, 
moral results, — we know that we should see that his ministry 
was abundantly fruitful of good. 

Dr. Braman had marvellous power in the pulpit : there was 
his great strength. His presentations of the great truths of 
the gospel system were not only correct and clear, but they 
were powerful. There are many among lis who have vivid ^ 
recollections of particular sermons delivered in this house with 
thrilling effect. Some of his biographical sermons are well 
remembered for their discriminating analysis, their acute in- 
sight into character, their touches of rare wit, their timely and 
well-put applications. On a certain sabbath which fell on the 
Fourth of July, Dr. Braman preached a sermon (from the text, 
" If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free in- 
deed ") which made a most profound impression upon all who 
heard it, and will long be remembered for its theme, its illus- 
trations, and the moving power of oratory with which it was 
delivered. 

Not only on " occasions," but uniformly, were this people 
helped, educated, stimulated, by the presence and power of 
such a preacher. Our hearts and lives to-day feel the effects, 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 20i 

and \vc trust bear some results of his inspiring helpful 
ministry to us. The church was strengthened and blessed 
under this pastor; and,_when he retired, it was not from a 
people weary and impatient under his services ; it was not 
from a people who could see in him signs of waning vigor and 
diminishing talents : it was against the decided wish and choice 
of his people that he left his pastorate among us when he did ; 
it was when his " natural force had not abated," when his 
powers were only in the early autumn richness of their fruit- 
age, that he decided such a step to be the part of wisdom. I 
am sure our hearts go out in blessing to him at this hour, as 
we review the past ; while we shall ever hold in grateful 
remembrance his ministry here, with the impulse to good, and 
the quickening influence which he was able under divine 
grace to impart to us. 

And now, sir, as we stand here to-day, trying to link the 
•past with the present, we may well have a tliought also for the 
future. Let us hope that the blessings of a faithful, able, de- 
voted ministry may be perpetuated here. It is not a small 
thing, that for these last two centuries, with their thousands 
of sabbaths, the word of truth has here been proclaimed, the 
fire has not gone out upon this altar. May a light always 
shine out from this church ! May the truth ever be preached 
here in love, and with power ! May the beneficent results of 
the preached word always be seen in this place, and the con- 
solations of the gospel of peace abound here to the latest 
generation ! 

Address of Wm. P. Upham, Esq., of Salem. 

While I shrink from addressing such an assemblage as this, 
and upon such an occasion, and regret very much the absence 
of Mr. Goodell,* who is far more competent to answer for the 
First Church of Salem, still, as I have had such great enjoy- 

* Mr. Upham was called uptni not only as one very faniiJiar with all this local 
history, but as a representative of the First Church in Salem, from which this 
church was an offshoot. I have been unable to give the remarks of the prcsi- 
dent in introducing the speakers, having no record of them. 

Mr. Goodell was present in the evening, and took part in the exercises. 



202 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

ment in attending these commemorative exercises, and in lis- 
tening to the interesting historical address of this forenoon, 
so well arranged, so correct, and interspersed with so much of 
wit and pleasing reminiscence to relieve the darker 'and graver 
outlines of history, I do not feel justified in wholly declining 
to respond. 

There is one thought connected with the character of this 
community which a study of its early history and of the first 
settlements that were made here suggests, that may be not 
without value ; namely, the permanency of the ancestral home- 
stead in the same family, generation after generation. Those 
who first occupied and cultivated the region afterwards in- 
cluded within the bounds of Salem Village were men of a 
remarkable stamp. Active, industrious, frugal, and intelligent, 
they were well fitted to make fertile and profitable farms out 
of what was then but a rough wilderness. As we look around 
us upon these farms, now so conveniently divided into fields, 
meadows, and woodland, with good roads leading in every de- 
sirable direction, we find it difficult to realize or appreciate the 
vast amount of patient labor that must have been required to 
first break the soil and make the rough places smooth. An 
enumeration merely of the names of those first settlers, so far 
as memory will recall them, will show how many of them were 
not only prominent in colonial history, but men whose descend- 
ants still live here, and take part in this celebration. 

The settlements appear to have spread up the western 
branches of the North River, first on what is now Waters 
River, then called Cow-house River, or Endicott's River, and 
on Crane River and Whipple Brook ; then on Frost-fish 
River, now called Porter's River, and on Frost-fish Brook, 
which empties into it from the north. 

On Waters River was the orchard farm of Gov. Endicott, 
a part of which is to-day owned by a direct descendant. At 
Felton's Hill, Nathaniel Felton made his home, whose descend- 
ants still occupy the same homestead. South of that was the 
farm of Emanuel Downing, leased upon his removal to John 
Proctor, whose children afterwards took a deed of it ; and the 
homestead continues in that family to the present time. Next 



i 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 203 

west of Endicott was the Townsend Bishop farm, where Fran- 
cis and Rebecca Nurse lived, and where to-day direct descend- 
ants reside, the children of Mr. Orin Putnam, who receives so 
courteously the numerous visitors coming, like pilgrims, to 
look upon the home of that saintly woman, a victim of the 
terrible tragedy of 1692. 

On the spot where we now meet, the first settler was Richard 
Weston. He and Richard Waterman, who lived near by, 
removed to Providence, Rhode Island ; and were among the 
leading colonists. They took part in founding there the first 
Baptist Church in America. Richard Ingersoll and William 
Haynes bought the Weston grant ; and Nathaniel Ingersoll, 
son of Richard, and Joseph Houlton, son-in-law of William 
Haynes and ancestor of the Houlton family, gave the land for 
the second meeting-house and for the ministry pasture. Judge 
Houlton lived upon part of the same farm ; and his descend- 
ants live there still. 

East of this was Elias Stileman's grant, bought by Richard 
Hutchinson, who also bought the farm of John Thorndike, 
including the hill now called Whipple Hill. Richard Hutchin- 
son first ploughed the fields to the south of Whipple Hill, 
receiving a special grant from the town as a compensation for 
his services in first opening the soil to cultivation. Here he 
lived, and descendants have continued to live, to the present 
time. North-east from Whipple Hill, John Putnam selected 
his farm. His descendants are now to be found not only 
there, but in every part of the town and throughout the coun- 
try. Robert Prince was his neighbor ; and part of the Prince 
farm is now occupied by a direct descendant. 

On Frost-fish River were Lawrence Leach and Jacob 
Barney, whose farms covered Folly Hill, being separated by a 
bound wall still to be seen running directly across the top of 
the hill, now the boundary line between Danvers and Beverly. 
Jacob Barney gave the land for the first schoolhouse in Salem 
outside of the town proper.* Its location was afterwards 

* I have no exact knowledge respecting the builcHng of the schoolhouse 
here referred too, and which appears upon Mr. Upham's map of 1692. But 
in any case, while standing south of the road, it was not within the limits of 



204 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

changed for a time to the north side of the road (the old Ips- 
wich Road) ; but was again removed to near its first site, now 
occupied by the East Danvers school. 

The Neck, now Danversport, was granted to Samuel Skel- 
ton, pastor of the First Church ; and next north, including Lin- 
dall Hill, was the grant to Samuel Sharp, Ruling Elder ; and, 
on the other side of Frost-fish Brook, Charles Gott, first dea- 
con of that church, was the first occupant or owner of what is 
now the Burley farm. 

John Porter bought all these farms, besides others farther 
north, and fixed his residence at the head of the creek that 
makes up towards the road from Salem to the Plains, a short 
distance east of the Unitarian chapel, where an ancient house 
was burned down a few years ago. Where Mr. Augustus 
Fowler lives, Daniel Rea was the first occupant. We have 
just had the pleasure of listening to a descendant of his, who, 
in his early years, lived at* the old homestead. 

And so we might go through the whole village, from farm 
to farm, pointing out the grant to Hugh Peters, east of the 
Daniel Rea farm, which Henry Brown coming here from Salis- 
bury bought, and where his descendants continued to reside 
for many generations (I believe part of the farm still remains 
in possession of the family) ; Thomas Putnam's homestead, 
where his descendant, Mr. Wm. R. Putnam, lives ; that of 
Thomas Flint in West Danvers, which has ever remained in 
that family. Robert Goodell's farm and others might be men- 
tioned ; but I will not weary your attention with further de- 
tail. The list already given is sufficient to show how remark- 
able this community is in having so many families descended 
from men of the first generation here, and occupying the same 
homesteads. The importance of this fact in its bearings upon 
the character of this people, and the power which the home- 
influence thus created and cherished must have in shaping its 
future history, is worthy of consideration. Such is the migra- 

Salcm Village ; and, on cither side, it was not within the limits of Danvers, save 
as by the new boundary of 1857. And nothing here stated by Mr. Upham is 
thus in conflict with what has been said in connection with the house built at the 
Village Centre by Mr. Green (p. 59). Mr. Barney gave the land in 1692. — R. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 205 

tory and ever-changing nature of our social life, that all tra- 
ditional veneration for the memory of our ancestors might be 
lost and forgotten, were it not for the existence of such influ- 
ences. How many there are who now, after years of busy life 
far away, return again to the old ancestral home, and, quick- 
ened by its beloved and sacred associations, renew their alle- 
giance to those great principles of religious and civil liberty in 
public affairs, and of virtue and piety in private life, which were 
so dear to their fathers ! Let us hope, that, when another cen- 
tury shall have passed, it may find here a posterity still cherish- 
ing those principles, and ready, with their lives if necessary, 
to uphold and defend them. 

Address of Rev. Geo. N. Anthony, Pastor of the 
South Church in Peabody. 

Mr. President, — I do not forget that I owe this oppartu- 
nity for participating in your festival, not to my being a son 
of old" Danvers, for such I am not, nor as one bound to this 
parish by family ties, as some are who have preceded me, 
but solely to the fact that I am the pastor of a church 
neighbor to this, and long within the corporate limits of the 
same municipality. I may not, therefore, trespass at length 
upon your patience. 

This day is devoted to historic reminiscences. The orator 
of the morning, alluding to the obscure and voluminous records 
which he has had occasion to consult in the preparation of his 
memorial address, gracefully remarked, that, with a " great sum 
of labor," he had bought his knowledge of your parish history. 
I, sir, have had no such " sum of labor " at my disposal, and may 
not, therefore, enter the historic field. 

While listening to the very able and entertaining address 
which your pastor gave us, I was reminded of the account of 
the creation in the Book of Genesis. There were, it seems, 
dwelling here, in the early days of old Danvers, strong, robust, 
energetic, and liberty-loving citizens, who contended much 
with the wilderness, and much with one another. Bickerings 
and disputes appear to have been a staple production. More- 



206 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

over, the ancient proverb was illustrated, that "as with the 
people, so with the priest ; " for the ministers seem to have 
been as contentious as their flock. Like the earth in its 
earliest condition was the picture ; for chaos and confusion 
reigned. Order was, however, at length evoked. The change 
was not an incidental, but a permanent improvement ; and gen- 
tlemen who have spoken to us, and who familiarly knew the 
leading citizens of a generation now gone, have paid a loving 
and beautiful tribute to those departed worthies. The records 
are in harmony with this oral testimony. For a very long 
period, there has been a happy concord among the people. 

Naturally we ask for the secret of this gratifying transfor- 
mation. Can we be mistaken in believing that the same good 
Being who brought order out of confusion to the material 
world, and garnished the earth with beauty, wrought moral 
order in the character and life of the Danvers population? 
His religion has, I would gladly believe, gained a more effec- 
tive hold upon the understandings and the hearts of men. It 
is instructive to notice, that always and everywhere,- Chris- 
tianity exerts a formative influence. She shapes the opinion 
and the character of individuals, of homes, and of institutions. 
There is a deep significance in the fact to which our attention 
was just now turned by a neighboring pastor (Rev. James 
Brand), that this parish is by a whole century older than the 
nation itself. The Christian religion paves the way for civil 
and social order. One word in the common speech of men 
pays its unconscious tribute to this very thing. We speak of 
society, and we invariably regard it as the" product of a reli- 
gious life. Where Christianity has not gone, there is no society, 
in our sense of the term. Only that can be a true society, 
in which each member is a socius, a closely united partner, a 
link in the social chain, a member of a true brotherhood. 
Wherefore, the history of old Danvers attests incidentally 
the value of the religion which has here wrought out these 
social results. Your history is of itself a homage to the 
system of truth to which you have clung. 

There came, we know, a measure of distrust of this system, 
and a breaking-away from it. If we ask why, one answer, 



OF THE CELEBRATIOiV. 207 

doubtless, is, that certain terms and phrases embodied in the 
reHi^ious vernacular of New England were unhappily chosen ; 
and another answer may be, that the protest and re-action 
came, when as yet the memory of contentious and uncomfort- 
able men prominent in religious affairs had not passed away, 
— a memory not suited to commend any religion with which 
it may be joined. 

To-day we look back gratefully upon the trial of two full 
centuries of New England Christianity in this place. And, 
although this occasion is mainly devoted to the past, it is 
admissible to turn our thoughts also to the present and to the 
opening future. While we do cheerfully believe that the God 
who has guided these communities thus far will preserve and 
bless them still, and while we confide in those doctrines which 
he has so signally honored already, we are not to forget that 
new conditions may devolve on us new responsibilities. It 
must be confessed that there are some aspects of the present 
and prospective condition of our population, as a whole, 
adapted to create alarm. Let the lighter divergences of re- 
ligious opinion be adjusted as they may, we are summoned to 
meet the c^uestion, " What shall be done for the many thousands 
now in our land who acknowledge neither sabbath, nor Bible, 
nor even God himself .'' " We are annually importihg infidelity 
from abroad, and assimilating with it the irreligion which is 
native-born. We are driven by the present condition of 
affairs to ask whether any thing better for substance can be 
found than that system of religious faith and worship, which, 
for two centuries, has wrought so beneficently here. May 
we not to-day study history with advantage, and looking at 
what we need, and what has been accomplished, say devoutly, 
Dens nioiistrat viani ? 

In closing, I know not how to reciprocate the courtesy which 
has included the South Church in Peabody among your guests, 
except by reminding you, that she, too, has a history, and is no 
modern growth. She looks forward to her bi-centennial ; and 
when it shall come, — it will soon be here : only forty- one years 
intervene, — she will expect the church in old Danvers to be 
with her. These churches and parishes are intimately joined. 



2o8 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

Ties of consanguinity and of marriage unite the families. We 
have members received from you, and you have members 
received from us. Please not to forget, therefore, the South 
Church, Peabody, invites you of the First Church, Danvers, 
to be at her bi-centennial in the year 191 3. 

Address of Rev. A. H. Currier of Lynn. 

Mr. Chairman, — I esteem it to be an extraordinary favor 
that I am invited to speak here to-day. Certainly I cannot 
ascribe the privilege to the fact of birth, or matrimonial alli- 
ance, or to any of the other reasons which have guided you in 
the selection of the other speakers. Perhaps it is due to a 
happy circumstance in the beginning of my work of the 
Christian ministry. 

It was here, in this honored pulpit, within the walls of this 
church, that I first tried my unpractised voice in preaching 
the gospel. In the ears of this people my first sermons were 
spoken. It has seemed to me ever since, in view of the 
marked kindness which I have experienced from many of the 
people here, that the fathers and mothers of this church then 
took me into their hearts, and adopted me as a son. In grati- 
tude for that kind and affectionate interest, I have been 
made to feel, in return, an unusual interest in your history 
and locality. 

I have endeavored, so to speak, to fit myself for the 
place of foster-son, to which your partial favor had received 
me. As a result, I have been an eager and diligent student 
of your annals. There is no local history with which I 
have made myself so well acquainted. Under the guid- 
ance of Mr. Upham, as proffered to me in his valuable 
History of Salem Village, I have extensively traversed, in 
thought, the region embraced in the ancient limits of your 
town. With the plan of that region furnished by him in my 
mind, I have often gone from Hathorne Hill to the Orchard 
Farm, and from Cherry Hill to the Cow River. Wy the 
favor of his introduction, also, I have conversed and become 
acquainted with the ancient worthies of the village, — with 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 209 

good Nathanael Ingersoll, whose hospitable dwelhng stood on 
ground near to where we are ; with Thomas Putnam, the faithful 
clerk of the church ; with honest, manly John Procter, whose 
discernment penetrated and justly weighed the nature of the 
fearful delusion which sprang up in this neighborhood, and at 
length made him one of its victims. 

When he heard of the feigned revelations of the afflicted 
children, he said they ought to be sent to the whipping-post 
rather than to have their accusations of the innocent and 
infirm heeded. Would that such sound advice had been re- 
ceived and acted upon ! 

It would most effectually have cured those informers of their 
mischievous malady, and saved your church and village from 
the stain which rests upon their early history. 

Permit me to dwell a moment upon that sad episode in your 
history. It may be thought, by those unacquainted with the 
facets, that the preacher this morning, in referring to Samuel 
Parris, the chief actor in that melancholy business, was too 
severe in his condemnation and treatment of one who exer- 
cised the sacred office of a Christian minister. 

But in my judgment, and if my knowledge of the case is not 
entirely erroneous, Samuel Parris received a lenient treatment 
at the preacher's hands. 

When I came into the church this morning, and saw on the 
front of the gallery encircling the house the names of the dif- 
ferent ministers who have served this church and people from 
the beginning until now, framed in evergreen, and ranged in 
the order of succession, I felt a secret disapproval at behold- 
ing among them, and holding a place of equal honor, appar- 
ently, with the rest, the name of this man Parris. Justice 
seemed to require some indication of the guilty part he 
played in that public tragedy, which cast a cloud of darkness 
and horror over this region in those early days. I thought 
of something which I saw in the old city of Venice last year. 

In the ancient hall of the Grand Council in the doge's 

palace, the portraits of the long line of doges who ruled the 

old Venetian state are ranged around the top of the room, 

like a frieze. At one place in the historic line a single vacancy 

14 



2IO PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

appears. Instead of a portrait, one sees the semblance of a 
black veil, and above it the inscription, " The place of Marino 
Faliero, who was decapitated for his crimes." 

When I saw the name of Samuel Parris inscribed on the 
front of the gallery, and to all appearance equally honored with 
the rest in the worthy line, I thought you had tenderly treated 
him ; that you might have been justified if you had refused him 
an equal place with the rest, and even if, like the treatment 
given to her traitorous doge by the Venetian Republic, you 
had put a black veil, instead of his name, in the enclosure of 
evergreen, and written over it, " The place of Samuel Parris, 
gibbeted in infamy, on account of his misdeeds and unchris- 
tian conduct." 

And now, sir, will you suffer me to say one word as to the 
lesson taught us by that sad chapter in your history } The 
great lesson, as I read it, which that tragical business teaches 
us is this : the law of charity is to be considered as alvvays 
in force. It stands paramount above all others, and is never 
to be disregarded or set aside upon any pretext. If there is 
any thing in the. Bible which seems to contradict and oppose it, 
if there is any precept or teaching contained there which 
seems to enjoin a conduct at variance with its promptings, 
consider that you have made some mistake in interpretation, 
that you have not yet arrived at the true meaning, that you 
must not accept any thing as true which may command you to 
violate the law of love. 

That law is supreme, and cannot rightly be violated. If 
this truth had been observed by your forefathers and the civil 
magistrates of their day, there would have been no Salem 
witchcraft tragedy to deplore. 

The same truth acted upon would have prevented the 
cruel persecutions for heresy which have disgraced the name 
of Christianity ; and in the future will be a sure safeguard 
against similar mistakes. 

Address of Dr. Jeremiah Spofford of Groveland. 

Mr. Chairman, — I have very little claim to occupy even the 
brief space allotted to each speaker during the short hour that 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 2ii 

is now fast passing away. I have neither .resided here, nor de- 
scended from any one who ever did ; but, did time and mem- 
ory serve, I could find many facts and reminiscences of intense 
interest, at least to the speaker, in connection with this place. 
My wife and family descended from a Danvers ancestry, and 
are probably related to every Putnam and Flint in the town, 
and all the Danvers families with whom the Putnams and 
Flints intermarried, previous to 1764, when Eleazar Spofford 
married Mary, daughter of Capt. Elisha Flint and Mary Put- 
nam, and ultimately administered upon his estate, and trans- 
mitted to me, his son-in-law and executor, many deeds and 
partitions of old Danvers lands, one parcel of which, I recollect, 
is conveyed to the family by Giles Cory. We have now in our 
family a gold clasp inscribed with their names, and presented 
by Elisha* Flint to Mary Putnam previous to their marriage, 
which could not well have been later than 1744; and a gold 
ring with the same inscription is still preserved in another 
branch of the family. I recently visited with much interest 
the old mansion, with massive timbers and huge chimney, 
where the recipient of these love-tokens was received, a bloom- 
ing bride, a hundred and thirty years ago, and was happy 
to find still well kept and in good hands. 

But I have many other interesting reminiscences. In 1795 
Thomas Peabody removed from Rocks Village, in Haverhill, to 
Danvers, with his wife (who was a favorite niece of my mother), 
and two interesting children, David and Achsah, my early 
playmates. A constant intercourse was maintained between 
our families ; and in February, 1 796, 1 first visited this locality 
with my parents. We moved in primitive style, with horse and 
sleigh, along the Topsfield road. I remember the white spire 
of Mr. Wadsworth's church in the distance, soon after burned, 
and succeeded by the brick church. We arrived at Danvers 
Plains, and called at " Putnam's Corner." I remember the 
genial landlord, whom they called Col. Putnam. We passed 
round by Dr. Putnam's biick house, by West's farm, Derby's 
garden, and along among the potteries, and the old flax-col- 
ored church, whose frequent enlargements had left it, with its 
numerous windows, and two pulpit-windows standing out of 



212 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

the ranks, with much the appearance of an unpainted 
wooden factory. Still on, round by the old " Bell Tavern," 
— for there was no street then through by the tanneries, — 
until we arrived at Mr. Peabody's. His father-in-law, Jeremiah 
Dodge, had by this time removed to Danvers, and purchased 
the Needham place on the Lynnfield road ; and by the attrac- 
tion of hospitable friends, and the repulsion of a powerful rain- 
storm which spoiled the sleighing, we were retained three 
days. 

By this time a third child was added to the Peabody family, 
not near as attractive in his childish days as his elder brother 
and sister ; for, in his earliest years, George had much of that 
decision of character which was a distinguishing characteristic 
of his after-life. I was therefore conversant with the life and 
fortunes of your distinguished benefactor, from infancy till I 
found myself in the long procession which wended its way 
from North to South Danvers, and at the table and on the 
platform an invited guest at the dedication of the Peabody In- 
stitute. 

I came from Georgetown with Mr. Peabody on his last 
departure for Europe, and parted with him here as he left the 
cars for Salem. And, again, I was at his funeral ; and I 
viewed from one of the slow-moving coaches which followed 
his remains to his last resting-place, the unnumbered throng, 
which, regardless of the thick-falling snow, filled the street 
from the church to the cemetery. 

I have been acquainted with one of your most talented pas- 
tors from infancy to age. His father was my pastor during 
all my youth, and tutor for a time ; and his estimable wife is 
of the blood of the Spoffords. 

I will name but a single other reminiscence. In June, 
1813, I closed my three-years' medical studies by an examina- 
tion at Worcester ; and quite happy, with my diploma in my 
pocket, I made my way to Boston, to see its Common covered 
with soldiers and arms, and the British ships, which had a few 
days before sent the old " Chesapeake " off to Halifax, lazily 
blockading the town. I came to Salem in the stage, over the 
turnpike and the water-logged floating bridge ; moved slowly 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 213 

on foot to North Danvers ; and spent the night at your then 
young Dr. Osgood's,* with my good friend and relative, Israel 
Adams, then a clerk in Mr. Warren's store, who settled among 
you, married a descendant of Judge Holten, and owned, re- 
sided in, and valued his ancient mansion near this spot. A 
cordial intimacy with this esteemed relative and friend, and 
your excellent citizen, from youth to age, may account for the 
interest I still feel in what is still Danvers. 

Hon. Allen W. Dodge of Hamilton, treasurer of Essex 
County, was next called upon ; and he responded with the 
expression of his interest in the occasion, and with graphic 
comments, of which I have no full report, upon matters belong- 
ing to the times of Peter Clark and Dr. Wadsworth. He com- 
mended especially that style of manhood, of which he took 
" the monosyllabic Clark " to be a representative, that is able 
to say " Yes " and " No," and to stand by what is said. 

Deacon Samuel P. Fowler of the Maple-street Church re- 
ferred to the general tone of disparagement in which Rev. 
Samuel Parris is always referred to, and spoke in terms of 
apology for the course of that minister, arguing to show that 
the idea of witchcraft in connection with sickness in his fam- 
ily was first suggested to him by his family physician. His 
children were sick ; and the doctor said they were bewitched. 
He sent to Boston and got Perkins's " Art of Damnable Witch- 
craft," and found their symptoms were therein delineated. He 
called a meeting of the ministers ; and they pronounced them 
bewitched ; he believed they were going to start the Devil's 

* Dr, George Osgood was a prominent man in Danvers society forty years 
ago, during the period of his middle life. He was active in parish affairs in the 
later years of Dr. Wadsworth's ministry, and at the coming of Dr. Braman. lie 
was inclined toward Unitarian views, and was earnest in the wish that his min-. 
ister should exchange pulpits with preachers holding those opinions ; on which 
topic the persons interested had some sprightly conversations. The doctor had 
a fondness for botanical studies. And he is specially well remembered by all 
who were boys and girls in his later life, for the somewhat remarkable manner 
in which he carried his cane as he walked. His residence for the most of his 
life was at the Plain. He was a practising physician fifty-five years ; and he 
died May 26, 1S65, aged seventy-nine years. — R. 



214 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

kingdom here. The courts appointed him to take the deposi- 
tions ; and that was the reason he came before the courts as 
the principal witness. He supposed the parsonage was given 
him with two acres of land : the society denied it, though 
it was on the records. All the councils gave him a good 
moral character ; and he was not to blame because he did 
not know more than Lord Chief Justice Hale and others 
since then.* 

Rev. George J. Sanger, pastor of the Universalist Church, 
and representative in the State Legislature, followed with a 
brief and concluding address.f He spoke of the respect he 
had for this church, and the denomination to which it belongs. 
He referred to the efficient help furnished by the Orthodox 
churches of New England in the great struggle against slavery ; 
and expressed in strong terms his sympathy with them in the 
foreign missionary work they are carrying on. For the oM 
Puritan stock of New England, he said that it had been much 
spoken against, even as fruit-bearing trees are most pelted 
with stones, but that the fruits, at, least, had been worth the 
gathering ; and by these it could afford to be judged. 



Letters from various persons invited to attend the celebra- 
tion, and not able to be present, were read during the after- 
noon session by Mr. Edward Hutchinson, secretary of the 
general committee. 

Letter of Hon. Charles W. Upham. 

Salem, Aug. 28, 1872. 
Edward Hutchinson, Esq. 

Dear Sir, — I cordially thank you for the honor of an invi- 
tation to attend the two JinndredtJi anniversary of the First 

* From the report in the Essex County Mercury, indorsed by Deacon Fowler. 

t Mr. Sanger was called upon, ingeniously as he judged, in behalf of the school 
committee; of which he was a member ; which committee in former times had 
been chosen, after some sort, in these parish meetings. I regret that I have no 
full account of his remarks. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 215 

Church and Society in Danvers, and regret exceedingly that 
it will not be in my power to be present on the occasion ; 
but few can have higher attractions to me. The congre- 
gation, soon after its organization having a church estab- 
lished, at old Salem Village, has a strange interest, and occu- 
pies a conspicuous place in the world's history, from the fact, 
that a fearful superstition that had brooded for long centuries 
over Christendom there came to a head, and received its 
death-blow. 

Outside of that, the history of the Salem Village church, or 
First Congregational Church and Society of Danvers, is truly 
honorable. In the character of its pastors, particularly subse- 
quent to 1692, and of its people, it is most worthy of commem- 
oration. It has been an example and a model of a Christian 
society pursuing a course of peaceful and unsurpassed useful- 
ness, fulfilling the best purposes for which the -people of the 
New-England communities have been, from the first, gathered 
as worshippers into religious associations for edification and 
instruction. May its harmony, prosperity, and usefulness be 
perpetual ! 

Begging, through you, to thank the committee for their kind 
invitation, I am. 

Very truly yours, 

Charles W. Upham, 

Letter of Rev. Leonard Withington, D.D. 

Newbury, Aug. 29, 1872. 
Dear Sir, — Your polite note and invitation to the two 
hundredth anniversary of your church has been received ; and 
it awakens sad regret that my age and health forbid the idea 
that I can attend. My heart, however, is young, and flies to 
the spot, and will give all its sympathies to your celebration ; 
for I love the Pilgrim Fathers with a specific love, for I am 
descended from them. I send you this*scntiment : " May we 
build on their foundation ; carry the edifice indeed higher, but 
never forget or forsake the corner-stone ! Whither they went 
we will go, and where they lodged we will lodge ; their people 



2l6 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

shall be our people, and their God our God ; where they died 
we will die, and there will we be buried. The Lord so do to us, 
and more also, if aught but death part them and us." 
Yours truly, 

Leonard Withington. 

Letters, of which portions were read, were also receivd from 
Hiram Putnam, Esq., of Syracuse, N.Y., a native of Danvers ; 
Rev. Moses K. Cross of Waterloo, lo., also a native of the 
town ; Rev. James Fletcher of Groton, formerly of Danvers ; 
Rev. William S. Coggin of Boxford ; Dr. C. G. Putnam of 
Boston ; Prof. John S. Sewall of Brunswick, Me., formerly 
minister at Wenham ; Rev. E. P. Tenney, now of Ashland ; 
and others. 



The services of the afternoon closed with singing, and with 
the benediction by the pastor. 

And here the formal exercises proposed for the celebration 
ended. But the people were slow to depart. A social gather- 
ing in the evening had been before suggested. The weather 
abroad had now become fine ; for the day itself, in its progress 
from the stormy morning, was answering to the history of the 
parish and the church ; and it was known that ample provision 
for supper was still to be found in the rooms below. Many, 
therefore, remained ; and by early evening the Village Hall 
was filled with people, among whom were many friends and 
former residents from abroad. 

The occasion was largely given up to social enjoyment. The 
making of speeches, and reading of letters, however, still con- 
tinued to be in order. 

Remarks were made b]^ Abner C. Goodell, jun., Esq., of 
Salem, throwing light upon the ancient times. Mr. Goodell is 
of the Village stock, and is thoroughly conversant with our 
local history ; but of his remarks I have been furnished with 
no report. He gave a sketch of the condition of church- 
music, if it might bear that ' name, in former times, with 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 217 

an account of the versions of the Psalms, and the hymn-books 
formerly in use ; illustrating his theme by copious citations, 
given from memory. 



Mr. David Stiles of Middleton gave an account of the 
church and parish in that place since the separation from us. 
With the addition, that has since been made, of some details, he 
spoke substantially as follows : — 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I am highly 
gratified in meeting with you to-day. In the first place, 
I have some claim to speak, as my wife was a resident, 
and therefore myself half-resident ; and, second, a part 
of my early days was spent among this people, and under 
the ministrations of the venerable Dr. Braman ; and, 
third, I am to speak in behalf of the oldest child of this 
church. 

I will relate a little story that has never been in print, 
showing our intimate connection nearly two hundred years 
ago. At the time of the witchcraft excitement, in 1692, a 
sister of Joseph Putnam (who lived where now is the residence 
of Dea. William R. Putnam), and aunt of the famous Gen. Israel 
Putnam, had a wish, like many others at that tune, to see the 
proceedings of the court, then held in the first meeting-house, 
a little east of where we are now assembled. But, as she 
entered the house, she was accused of witchcraft. The officers 
of the law were advised by Mr. Parris not to arrest her till 
the trial then going on was closed. Meanwhile the poor girl 
fled to the house of Bray Wilkins, living under the brow of 
Will's Hill. She took her weary and anxious way through the 
swamps, among the thorns of the wilderness, fording Ipswich 
River, leaving behind one or both shoes lost in the mud ; and, 
with her clothing nearly torn from her body, she entered the 
house of this well-known good man. But the officers were 
already upon her track, and were soon seen on. the plain land 
below. Again she ran with bleeding feet to the dismal 
locality at the head of Middleton Pond ; and there among the 



2i8 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

thorns and briers, wild beasts and reptiles, she secreted herself 
till the search was given up. 

Bray Wilkins had lived on this spot since 1660, having 
bought Richard Bellingham's claim the year before. He was 
well known at Salem Village for forty-two years, as a pious 
and good citizen, and a firm supporter of the church and 
parish, till his death in 1702. 

He was the son of Lord John Wilkins of Wales ; * and the 
genealogy of the family, which I have seen, goes back to 
1090, or seven hundred and eightyrtwo years. The honorable 
titles attached to some of their names indicate that this 
family took a high rank among their countrymen. 

Tradition says, that Wilkins, Bellingham, and others came 
over with Gov. Endicott in 1628 ; and it is thought that the 
intervening years, up to 1660, were spent by Wilkins in Lynn. 
He was, however, the first English settler in tJiis part of Salem 
Village ; and his tract of land was added to that of the Village, 
through his influence ; which accounts for the long and peculiar 
shape given to the Village boundaries. 

William Nichols bought a claim of land of Bartholomew, 
and settled on the same in 1652 ; and William Hobbs, in 1660. 
These lands are in the east part of the town, near the resi- 
dence of William Peabody ; and for some time they were 
claimed by " New Meadows," now Topsfield. 

In 1663 Thomas Fuller of Woburn bought a claim of 
Major-Gen. Dennison, which lay upon the east side of that 
of Wilkins, beginning at Pierce's Brook, and running north. 
This brook passes in front of the house of Abijah Fuller ; and 
upon this spot Thomas erected his first dwelling. He was a 
blacksmith by trade, and thus made himself useful both to 
the Village and Hill people. His voice was listened to with 
respect in parish meetings at Salem Village. His grandson, 
Jonathan, mad^ the presentation of the charter for our town, 
procured from the General Court. This took place at the 



* Whoever his father may have been, Bray was a sensible man ; and his own 
sufficiently honorable title was ''Bray Wilkins, husbandman." — R. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 219 

house of Dr. Daniel Felch, in 1728. A remnant of the Felch 
cellar is now seen opposite the house of Mr. Addison Tyler : 
this was the dividing line between Salem and Rowley. Mr. 
Fuller was called Lieut. Thomas in our early history ; being 
probably an officer in the Indian wars. It seems that he and 
his friend Wilkins, and their families, were not much affected 
by the witchcraft delusion.* A grandson of Wilkins, how- 
ever, John Willard, was hung for witchcraft, on Gallows Hill, 
for choking Daniel Wilkins to death. (Probably this Wilkins 
died of some throat-disease.) The foundation of this Willard's 
house is now seen near the residence of Samuel H. Wilkins. 

But I suppose you wish to hear how God has prospered this 
child of yours, — the church in Middleton. Unlike the mother- 
church, our first ministers were godly men. It was during 
the ministry of your second good pastor, Mr. Clark, that the 
church was formed ; and no doubt he was consulted in making 
the selection of our first pastor. The act of the incoqDoration 
of the town enjoined upon the people " the settling of a minis- 
ter, and the hiring of a Schoolmaster, to teach ye young to read 
and write." The church was formed Oct. 22, 1729, with fifty- 



* My friend Mr. Stiles has, no doubt, a desire, natural, and, within due 
bounds, praiseworthy, to make it appear that these early townsmen of his were 
less deluded than the other inhabitants of tlie Village. But I cannot quite suf- 
fer this to pass. These were families of character ; and of intelligence, for those 
times. But the complaint against this John Willard was made by Thomas 
Fuller, jun., and Benjamin Wilkins, sen., both members of these families ; and was 
concurred in by Bray Wilkins himself, Willard's grandfatl:er, and. apparently, 
by nearly all of the family connection. And the offence was charged to have 
been committed to the injury of Bray Wilkins, then an old man, and of Daniel 
Wilkins, a great-grandson of Bray Wilkins, as I suppose. 

" Lieut. Fuller," also being present at an examination of persons charged 
with witchcraft, declared that the witches had been trying to persuade a certain 
child to " cut her head off with a knife " {History of Witchcraft, vol. ii. p. 25). 

On the whole, Mr. Stiles should be satisfied with claiming, what was cer- 
tainly true, that these Will's Hill people were as good as the rest of the vil- 
lagers. 

It may, however, be added, that Thomas Wilkins, son of Bray Wilkins, 
entered early into the opposition to Mr. Parris ; along with Samuel Nourse, 
John Tarbell, and Peter Cloyse, which may indicate that he began to get light 
sooner than some others. — R. 



220 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

two members : twenty more were added the next year. From 
this, we conclude that the population was then about four hun- 
dred. Rev. Andrew Peters, the first pastor, was settled Nov. 
1 3,* 1 729, and remained twenty-seven years. He was a devoted 
minister ; and the church prospered under his ministry. He 
died Oct. 6, 1756, aged fifty-five years. His remains rest 
among the people of his charge. Mr. Peters was a graduate 
of Harvard College, and son of Samuel Peters of Andover. 

It is related that Mr. Peters's negro, while driving his mas- 
ter's cows to pasture, had several times been molested by a 
troublesome neighbor ; whereupon Mr. Peters one morning 
concluded to go himself. As he proceeded on his way, he 
met the hectorer of his negro, with whom he expostulated, but 
without satisfaction ; then, without any hesitation, he took off 
his coat, saying, as he laid it upon a stump, " Lie there, divinity, 
while I whip a rascal," and gave him a sound thrashing. This 
story, whether true of any other minister or not, is true of Mr. 
Peters ; and the place where the stump was is near the house 
of Capt. Simon F. Esty, as stated by Deacon Symonds, who 
pointed it out within the remembrance of some now living. 

In 1759, Jan. 10, Rev. Elias Smith was settled. He, also, 
was a graduate of Harvard, and a successful minister. He 
died Oct. 17, 1791, aged sixty-one years. His was a ministry 
of nearly thirty-three years. His remains rest with us. Mr.^ 
Smith once had a call from a church in Marblehead, with a 
larger salary. His reply was, that he " would not leave his little 
flock in Middleton for all Marblehead ; " being unlike, in this, 
to some pastors at the present day, who are induced to leave 
their people for a small additional sum of money. Mr. Smith 
was one of the trustees of Phillips Academy, and so remained 



* H«re is still another date. (See pp. 72, 73.) This is from The Church 
Manual. I have been to look the matter up. The records of the church 
have no mention of the ordination. By the town records it appears that it was 
voted to employ Mr. Peters, March 17 ; and that it was proposed, Sept. 16, that 
he should be ordained on the second Wednesday of November. But that day 
fell on the 12th of the month. There is no mention of a postponement which, I 
think, occurred. The ordination was probably, in fact, upon the 26th ; and for 
the date, as given in the Manual, there seems to be no authority at all. — R. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 221 

till his death. He was qualified to fill almost any station in 
life. He was the grandfather of George Peabody, and of the 
late Col. Francis Peabody of Salem. 

Rev. Solomon Adams was settled Oct. 23, 1793' and remained 
twenty years. He died Sept. 4, 181 3, aged fifty-two years. He 
was the last of our ministers to be buried among t^s. 

Rev. Ebenezer Hubbard was settled Nov. 27, 18 16, and 
remained twelve years ; and was dismissed April 30, 1828. It 
is said that he died a few years ago in Tennessee, in destitute 
circumstances. 

In 1 83 1 a call was given to Rev. Forrest Jefferds ; but the 
parish, desifing unevangelical preaching, refused to concur 
with the church. Accordingly the church withdrew, leaving 
behind the church-funds and communion furniture, their meet- 
ing-house, where they had worshipped one hundred years, with 
a new stove and funnel (the first ever within its walls), and a 
new sabbath-school library and case. These things were pur- 
chased mostly by these now outcasts. This was a sad day for 
the church in Middleton ; with no place of worship, no pastor, 
without funds, " cast down, but not destroyed." I well remem- 
ber the day. Strong men wept. They cried unto God ; and 
he heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles. 
The good man Mr. Jefferds cast in his lot with them, and was 
settled May 2, 1832. A new meeting-house was soon built, 
costing about two thousand dollars, of which sum only seven 
hundred could be raised by the people. The remainder was 
given by Salem Village people, and others whose sympathies 
were enlisted by our forlorn condition. 

Mr. Jcfferds's salary was five hundred dollars : one-half of 
this sum was given by the Home Missionary Society for some 
years. Great praise is due Mr. Jefferds for his faithfulness in 
the hour of peril. Under the two last pastorates, the parish 
had gone over to Unitarianism ; while the church had seldom 
listened to a gospel sermon. A new foundation must be laid : 
but, fortunately for us, the most of the church were regener- 
ated men and women ; and with the blessing of God upon 
their labors, with those of their minister, a better day was soon 
at hand. 



222 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

Mr, Jefferds was dismissed May 15, 1844. ^ 

The succession continued in the following order : Rev. 
Thurston Searle, settled May 8, 1845, dismissed Dec. 23, 
1846; Rev. J. Augustine Hood, ordained Jan. 2, 1850, dis- 
missed May 17, 1854; Rev. A. H. Johnson, ordained Jan. i, 
1857, disnjissed April 5, 1865 ; Rev. James M. Hubbard, 
installed April 5, 1865, resigned Dec. 28, 1868; 'Rev. Lucien 
H. Frary, ordained Oct. 7, 1869.* 

Within a few years we have built a new church and parson- 
age, costing over ten thousand dollars. Fifteen hundred dol- 
lars is now assessed on the pews to pay current expenses. 
Rev. Mr. Frary, our beloved pastor, has full audiences on the 
sabbath ; and the sabbath school is well attended. The church 
now numbers about one hundred and fifty. 

Thus hath God prospered us ; to him be the glory. 

From the first, the people of Will's Hill have lived on good 
terms with those of Salem Village. We heartily thank you 
for your sympathy and help in the hour of our need. We are 
confident you have not forgotten your daughter-church ; and 
we trust that that bond which binds us together will never be 
sundered. When the hand on the dial of time has made another 
revolution, and points to 1972, we shall all be laid in our final 
resting-place, till the sound of the last trumpet ; but we be- 
lieve that our children's children, unto the third and fourth 
generation, will meet on or near this consecrated spot, to re- 
count God's mercies. They may narrate thus again the names 
of Christian pastors, and of church-ofificers that are yet to 
come ; and there will be others, also, whose names will long 



* There is here appended a list of deacons in the Middleton church, with the 
time of their election to the office : — 

John Berry 1729 Joseph .Symonds 1820 

Samuel Symonds i7-9 Joseph Peabody 1821 

Edward Putnam, jun 1738 David S. Wilkins 1829 

Samuel Nichols 1749 David Stiles 1831 

Francis Peabody, jun 1756 Allen Berry 1840 

John Flint 1778 William A. Phelps 1857 

Samuel Symonds 1780 James N. Merriam ..... 1868 

Benjamin Peabody 1794 Edward W. Wilkins .... 1874 

John Nichols 1794 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 223 

have been forgotten, but whose labors for the cause of Christ 
will never die, and whose prayers will be answered in the sal- 
vation of mankind, upon every land under the sun. 



The following letter from Judge Tapley of Saco, Me., was 
received too late for use on the day of the celebration, but is 
here printed, as belonging in intent with these proceedings : — 

Gentlemen of the Committee, — I received 'with pleas- 
ure your kind invitation to be present upon the " memorial 
occasion," so fitly chosen and arranged by those who love their 
native land. I fully determined to avail myself of the oppor- 
tunity offered to meet many dear friends yet remaining in the 
home of my childhood ; but I find myself compelled by a press 
of public and official duties to forego the great pleasure antici- 
pated. 

The reflections suggested by the occasion bring to my mind 
with great force the words of Woodworth, when he says, — 

" How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, 
When fond recollection presents them to view ! " 

We, too, can see • 

" The orchard, the meadow, . . . 
The wide-spreading pond, and the mill which stood by it." 

And we remember 

" The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell, 
And e'en the rude Ijucket which hung in tlie well." 

But how changed are even these now ! Being material, they 
could not escape the ravages of time, but in their change 
mark its flight. Change is God's time-keeper : by it we note 
the flight of years. Infancy, youth, manhood, and old age are 
but marks and points upon the dial-plate of time : were they 
everlasting, we could not note time. Life is limited, and time 
illimitable. Upon the infinity of one is marked the finiteness 
of the other. To-day we contemplate two hundred years 



2 24 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

passed and gone, two centuries born and dead. This space of 
time to us seems great ; and how vast and varied have its 
changes been ! The postihon has given way to the steam-car : 
in communication of thought, space and time have been almost 
annihilated by the telegraph. The genius of invention has 
been crowned with such wonderful success, that there seems 
but little more to be done in material advance. This we call 
progression : it is progression ; but it is temporal, except so far 
as man is improved, and brought nearer to the estate of Him 
whose image he bears. This progression, and these advances, 
we contemplate with pride and satisfaction ; but, grand and 
magnificent as they are, they sink into insignificance when 
compared with those whose influence must be felt throughout 
eternity. Those which elevate man in his action and compre- 
hension are not simply grand, but sublime : their results are 
not seen alone in matter, but are also manifest in mind. From 
this standpoint we find much has been accomplished in the 
past two centuries. A barren wilderness here has been 
peopled, and civil and religious freedom established and main- 
tained against the power of the Old World. Although two 
political revolutions have been witnessed in the progress, and 
the scourge of war has visited the people in their march, it is 
not the result af arms. They were not the motive-power, or 
even the means whereby the ends were produced : they were 
simply resistances offered to the progress of right, and rebel- 
lions against just and immutable laws, which must be met in 
kind, and as surely to be overcome as God's laws are to pre- 
vail over man's. The selfish bigotry of the past has yielded 
much to a more charitable and enlightened liberality of both 
thought and action. More and more every day is man inclined 
to view his fellow-man as a brother, and to praise an^ appre- 
ciate his well-meant efforts by whatsoever creed worked out. 
In their religions, men love more, and hate less. Education 
and intelligence have forced out superstition and intolerance. 
The means of education have kept well apace with all the 
advances made ; and the light of intelligence is now as freely 
offered as the light of the sun, and the free school is now 
almost a birthright of American children. 



OF THE CELEBRATION^. 225 

These things illumine the past ; and, while they move us in 
grateful remembrance, they create a high respect and regard 
for those who have gone before, and do much to stimulate us 
to action. 

In contemplating the past, we naturally turn our eyes to the 
future, and wonder and surmise what it will be. While it is 
true that " the lamp of the past is the light of the future," we 
are not left to reason entirely from experiences ; for we know 
certain laws must produce, in time, certain results. May we 
not reasonably expect a continued progression till we reach 
that perfection which shall constitute in itself a heaven of 
God's created things .-* In the progress of the events that 
shall thus be crowned, we anticipate our country and nation 
will be both a leader and teacher ; and that its wise and benefi- 
cent institutions, and its just appreciations and recognitions 
of the rights and duties of man, may and will be a continued 
sample for others ; and that, if there be one place above 
another in the great and final gathering, we, as a nation and a 
people, shall be found in the most favored place as the example 
which hastened the glorious day. 

Respectfully yours, 

RuFus p. Tapley. 

There was also received, at a subsequent date, the following 
communication from Rev. Moses K. Cross, which, although 
previously printed in " The Iowa Instructor and School Jour- 
nal," is appropriately furnished by him for a place among these 
local reminiscences : — . 

The Old Brick Meeting-House. 

The Old Brick Meeting-House stood on a gravelly knoll, at 
an obtuse angle in the highway, in the town of Dan vers, Essex 
County, Massachusetts, and could be seen at a great distance, 
in every direction. On the same spot had stood two similar 
structures before ; and a fourth one now occupies its place. It 
was near the scene of the notorious Salem witchcraft ; and the 
blighting influence of that sad exhibition of human weakness 
seemed to rest on the neighborhood for many years. 
15 



226 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

The Old Brick was " erected," as all passers-by were duly 
notified, in 1806. It was neither an elegant nor a substan- 
tial structure ; * for the tower had settled and separated from 
the house, leaving a huge and horrible crack between them. 
It was a disputed point, whether the tower had separated from 
the house, or the house from the tower ; but there could be 
no doubt about the fact of a very grave schism in the sanc- 
tuary. 

Rev. Dr. W. was the first minister in the Old Brick Church. 
He was a very dignified, venerable man, and always wore 
bands. His voice was weak ; and he could be heard only with 
the closest attention. 

The pulpit stood on six fluted columns, and was very high. 
The entrance was by a door, which was always shut, except 
when the minister went in and came out. We used to watch 
and measure the time after he closed the door, before his head 
appeared above ; and, as near as can now be remembered, it 
was not far from half a minute. Over his head hung that 
mysterious hexagonal sounding-board, suspended by an orna- 
mental rod some thirty feet in length. When he stood up, it 
was about eighteen inches from his head. 

Opposite the entrance to the pulpit was another door, which 
was always kept shut and locked, so far as we were permitted 
to see. It was a very curious question to us boys, what was 
kept in there. It must be something sacred, of course, we 
concluded ; but whether it were Aaron's rod and the pot of 
manna, or some more modern institution, we were not per- 
mitted to see. We now believe that the communion ser\'ice 
and baptismal font were kept there ; and what else, we cannot 
say. 

The galleries were occupied chiefly by the choir, the mice, 
and the boys, especially the last. It was a great feat when 

* There was a different opinion, on the first point, when the house was 
built, and before the crack appeared. (See pp. 99-102 ; and also, for the 
matter of permanence, p. 139). 

Moreover, as there was more moisture in the soil, and a poorer founda- 
tion, under the eastern end of the building, we ought firmly to believe that the 
settling was in that direction, and that the house separated from the tower. — R. 



OF THE CELEBRATION. 227 

a boy got old enough to sit up gallery. He was the next step 
to a man, surely. Opposite the pulpit, and behind the or- 
chestra, were the negro-seats, which were never occupied by 
white folks, and seldom by colored. The high box-pews, in a 
high gallery, afforded a fine place for the boys to trade jack- 
knives, and perform other irreverent ceremonies, during ser- 
mon-time. I remember swapping watches in one of them, 
and getting a first-rate bargain, one Thanksgiving Day, not 
on Sunday. I remember, also, the exceeding mortification I 
felt once, on Sunday, at having the sexton come into the pew, 
and roughly separate us boys, taking his seat between us dur- 
ing the rest of the sermon. 

The belfry was a never-ceasing marvel and astonishment to 
us. It was reached by successive flights of winding-stairs, 
through the dark, unfinished tower. The bell, which could be 
heard many miles, was one of Holbrook and Son's of Medway, 
Mass., and had this solemn motto on it, which always preached 
a little sermon to us when we went up there, and when it 
tolled for a funeral, — 

" I to the church the living call, 
And to the grave do summon all." * 

The large ball and weathercock above the bell were the 
most wonderful things of all that pertained to the Old Brick 
Meeting-House. How they ever got there, who could have 
the courage to go up and put them in their place, when it was 
all that we dared do to look over the railing, were questions 
that were never fully solved to our childish understanding. 

But, in process of time, the old sanctuary must come down. 
The lofty brick tower was carefully undermined ; and at a sig- 
nal from the bell, on a certain day, it was to fall over, full- 
length, in the sight of all the wondering and expectant people 
of the parish. Instead, however, of conforming to the pro- 
gramme which had been adopted, it ignobly crumbled, and 
crashed down in one general mass of confusion and dust. 

* The same bell is now in use. Spanish doubloons were put into it, it is 
said, when it was cast ; and a committee went to the foundery to sec it done. — R. 



228 PROCEEDINGS ON THE AFTERNOON 

Thus ended the Old Brick Meeting-House, and with it many 
a dream of boyish imagination. 



An interesting letter was read, during the evening, by 
Augustus Mudge, from Mrs. Mary P. Braman, the wife of 
the former pastor ; and, in connection with the reading, Mr. 
Mudge made appropriate and just remarks upon the great 
efficiency of Mrs. Braman in the sabbath school and the 
ladies' circle, and upon the extent and value of her influence 
throughout the parish. 



And thus the hours of our assembhng, though so far pro- 
longed, drew to a close. 

Much, and 'perhaps the larger part, of that which engages 
our thoughts, and affects our feelings, upon such an occasion, 
it is not possible to record. There is a sacredness in the past 
to which we cannot be insensible, and which these memorial 
days bring freshly upon us. And the past, at such times, is 
scarcely separated from the future, and from all the life of 
man. We felt the power of these impressions, and we should 
not wish them to be taken from our recollection. Except for 
the storm of the morning, — which also made brighter, by con- 
trast, the hours that followed, — it was thought that there was 
little connected with the day or its services that might not be 
remembered with pleasure. We are glad, therefore, for the 
observance we have kept, the record of which is here about to 
end. It has made us better acquainted with the history of 
our neighborhood and town, from near the time of its first 
settlement. It has increased our interest in these Christian 
institutions, whose history we have reviewed ; and it has made 
us to feel more of concern for whatever may have to do with. 
the well-being of this community in the times that are to 
come. But, besides this, it has quickened our feelings with 



OF THE celebration: 229 

respect to all that belongs to mankind. We have paused, and 
looked upon human life ; we have enlarged our sympathies ; 
and we have more of kindness and of hope. And thus from 
this eminence upon which we have stood for a little, by the 
way, we have given to our brethren, to the generations of our 
fathers and our children, our affectionate greetings and our 
farewell. 



Postscript. — Not till these sheets were in the hands of the 
binder, did I notice, in the preface of the third volume of the 
Mass. Colony Records, that the Editor has himself called atten- 
tion to the possible inaccuracy of the marginal dates. 

A more careful reading at an earlier day, would have changed 
the form of the reference made to this matter. 



APPENDIX. 



A. — Page 15. 



This date, Oct. 8, for the act of incorporation, is wrongly 
given, and the celebration itself of the day was of course also mis- 
placed. It was taken from a copy on the parish records of a 
paper, attested by Edward Rawson, Secretary of the Colony, and 
dated "at a General Court held at Boston, 8th of October, 1672." 
The document may be seen upon page 15. The titlepage of the 
record-book also refers the order of the court to Oct. 8. And 
no question had ever been raised upon it. After the stereotyped 
plates for the history had been finished, and when a change of 
large extent could not well be made upon them, I chanced to notice, 
in looking over the published records of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony, that the date of Oct. 11 was set in the margin against this 
act of incorporation. It immediately occurred to me that the date 
of Oct. 8 was only given as covering all the acts of the General 
Court assembling on that day. And this is the truth. The assem- 
bling, indeed, of the legislature in those days gave some better indi- 
cation of the time when business. might be transacted than it would 
at present. 

But further, upon going to the State House, and examining the 
original records, — both the book from which the printed record 
was copied and the books containing files of the original papers, — 
I became convinced that the date Oct. 1 1 was no more correct than 
the other. Upon calling to this matter the attention of an expert, 
long employed in the secretary's office, he remarked, that though 
no one had ever spoken of it before, yet he had been aware that 
these marginal dates, as given iti the volumes of the printed records, 
are not to be altogether depended upon. They are certainly doubtful, 
probably wrong, in other cases besides this, and in the same imme- 
diate connection. 

It appears from the original papers, that, on the 15th of October, 

231 



232 APPENDIX. ^ 

a bill was passed by the " magistrates "* for the incorporation of 
Salem Village, and which would have conferred upon it powers 
in little or nothing short of those of a distinct town. 

To this the deputies "consented not." But on the next day the 
deputies agreed to the act as it now stands, and the magistrates 
upon the same day concurred. The paper is signed by the clerk 
of the deputies, and the secretary of the colony, Edward Rawson, — 
who was also secretary of the magistrates' branch of the court, — 
apparently with but one date. And, in any case, the date of the 
final and only conclusive action was Oct. i6 (O. S,). 

And this is the day which should have been commemorated ; or 
rather more exactly, adding ten clays for the change in the calen- 
dar, the precise time of the year would occur upon Oct. 26.! 

I think, however, that we will not now disturb what was done 
nearly two years ago, on the 8th of October. We are at most but 
a few days younger than we thought. 

I have set this matter forth so at length as being one of some 
interest to those who are curious or careful in such concerns, apart 
from its connection with us in this Village Parish. It may be of 
importance, too, in some cases, to know that these marginal dates 
in our printed and widely circulated colonial records are not to be 
implicitly relied on. While thus speaking, I do not mean to imply 
that great care was not taken by Dr. Shurtleff, the edifor, in the 
printing of those records. The books from which the copy was 
made are in parts obscure, having marginal dates the intent of 
which it is difficult to make out. It is not easy, and as I think 
not possible, in many cases, to fix the time of the passage of an act 
with certainty, except by comparison with the books in which are 
preserved the original papers themselves ; and this it could hardly 
have been expected that the editor should do. 

* The General Court was composed of two bodies : the governor and his as- 
sistants, or " magistrates " as they were termed together, in one, a body answer- 
ing in part to the Senate, and in part to the Governor and his Council, as we 
now have them ; and the " deputies," or representatives of the people from the 
several towns, in the other. 

t This matter is often misunderstood, as if the change of the calendar did not 
affect our fixing upon the same point of the natural and actual year. But it 
does. What I mean is, that to find the same real period of the year, the days 
must be added. The two hundred yearly revolutions of the earth were not com- 
pleted in this case until Oct. 26, and a few hours later in the day withal, at that 
reckoning. If the reason is not plain, I hope at least the assertion is. 



APPENDIX. 233 

The incorporation of the parish being thus again referred to, it 
may be added that a movement for separation from Salem was 
begun as early at least as 1666. It was a matter of sharjD contest. 
And moreover, after the passage of the act of 1672, the people of 
Salem still made opposition, a few of the inhabitants of the Village 
apparently joining with them ; and the business was brought again 
'before the General Court in 1673. The deputies would have been 
willing to reconsider the case ; but the magistrates declared that it 
had been "fully heard and settled already." 

It may be noticed that the name itself, Salem Village, is not 
given in the order of the Court, though it did occur in the form of 
the order rejected by the deputies. In official documents the 
more frequent title at first was " Salem Farms." The other, how 
ever, soon came into popular and universal use. 



I will observe also, with respect to the early dates in our history, 
that the time of the formation of the church, and the ordination of 
Mr. Parris, has been given with variations. But it is open to no 
doubt whatever, that both these events took place, as stated in the 
history, Nov. 19, 1689 (O. S.). 

The date is given erroneously in Mr. Felt's " Annals of Salem," 
but is corrected in the appendix ; which correction, not being 
referred to in the body of the work, has probably escaped notice by 
some. The church record is clear as to the date of the organiza- 
tion, or "embodiment;" and the preface to Mr. Parris's ordination 
sermon makes it certain that his ordination took place on the same 
day.* 

* There is in the possession of the Connecticut Historical Society, at Hart- 
ford, a manuscript volume of sermons by Mr. Parris. They are mostly discourses 
preached at the Communion. They are in his clear and elegant handwriting, 
and were bound also by himself. The volume is kept, I may add, with great 
care ; being safely locked beyond the reach of the assistant librarians, and only 
accessible to Mr. Hammond Trumbull himself. His own courtesy in the 
matter is ample. liut I do not know whether he is under any apprehension that 
the book may be in danger of flying upon a broomstick to this spot of its origin 
where it might suppose itself likely to be more at rest. 

The 19th fell on Tuesday, not Monday, as Mr. Upham has inadvertently 
given it. (Compare Mr. Parris's entry in the church record immediately folloW' 
ing : "24, November, 1689, Sab. day.") 



234 APPENDIX. 

I cannot omit here to make an acknowledgment, which should 
have been more conspicuously placed at the opening of the volume, 
of the courtesy and helpfulness uniformly shown to me by the 
ofBcials at the State House, in charge of the books and papers to 
which I have had occasion often to refer.* 



B. — Page 45. 

It has been mentioned, that, while Mr. Parris gave up his minis- 
terial work in this parish upon the last sabbath of June, 1696, he 
continued to have some nominal and legal hold upon the pastoral 
office to a later date. The last entry he left upon the church 
records, and the only one he made after the close of his public 
ministry, is of date "October 11. 1696. Lord's day." It is as 
follows : — 

The dismission of our Brethren and Sisters W"- Way and Persis his wife, 
and Aaron Way and Mary his wife, together with their children to ye church of 
Christ lately gathered at Dorchester in New England and now planted in South 
Carolina, whereof the Reverend Mr. Joseph Lord is Pastor, was consented to by a 
full and unanimous vote at ye motion and desire of ye Brethren and Sisters : and 
accordingly letters Dismissive were written, 17th instant. 

Mr. Parris being at hand, his clerkly gifts were called into use, 
we may suppose, upon this occasion. 

A matter of considerable historic interest is here touched upon. 
The Dorchester church referred to was a missionary organization 
in reality, formed in answer to an appeal from certain Christian 
settlers in the southern part of Carolina (a colony then in its in- 
fancy) for help in the maintenance of religious institutions. 

The main portion of the expedition had sailed in December, 1695, 
and had made an establishment on the Ashley River, which they 
named Dorchester. To this jDoint, the two families dismissed from 

* I am moved also to speak of the unfailing patience that has been exhibited 
in the preparation of this volume for the press by the gentlemen of the firm of 
C. J. Peters & Son, stereotypers, of Boston. Moral qualities are held to be 
transmissible by natural descent ; and I am persuaded that some progenitor of 
theirs, though even in distant times, must have laid up that store of enduring 
and unruffled temper, at this very work of compiling himself the history of some 
old parish. 

It is my wish that the continuation of this publication, through coming 
centuries, should be with the assistance of the members of this same firm and 
family stock. 



APPENDIX. 235 

our church doubtless went. A Congregational form of church gov- 
ernment was there set up ; and the colony prospered. But, the loca- 
tion proving unhealthy, the larger part removed, in 1752, to Georgia, 
to a location which they called Midway, lying between the Alta- 
maha and Ogeechee Rivers. They numbered here eight hundred 
and sixteen persons, of New-England origin and New-England 
principles, and differing widely from the surrounding population. 
They gave a flavoring of their own character to the parish or county 
of St. John's, in which they lived. With the coming-on of the Rev- 
olutionary period, this parish chose the first, and, for some time, the 
only delegate from Georgia to the Continental Congress of 1775. 
For its zeal in the cause of Independence, the name was changed 
to " Liberty County ; " which name is still kept. 

The county is said to have preserved to the present time a dis- 
tinction for intelligence and public spirit. Though Southern in 
feeling, it went reluctantly, and with strong efforts at resistance, 
into the movement for secession and rebellion. And the original 
church itself at Midway is believed to have maintained its Congre- 
gationalism to the present time. 

It would be pleasant if there might be resumed some fraternal 
intercourse between this church and the churches from which its 
founders and early members went forth. 

For further particulars see an article entitled, " The First Home 
Missionaries of New England," in "The Congregational Quar- 
terly," for April, 1868, by Rev. James H. Means of Dorchester. 



C. — Page 142. 
THE SHOE-TRADE OF DANVERS. 

BY MR. EDWIN MUDGE.* 

Shoe-manufacturing has long been prominent in the business of 
the town. For the past sixty years the number of manufacturers 
has averaged twenty or more ; and the average yearly value of boots 
and shoes produced, from one half a million dollars, to a million, 
and in some years exceeding the latter amount. The Danvers bro- 
gan, the unbound kip, the women's calf, the women's, misses', and 
children's grained and goat shoes, have had an excellent reputation 
in the different markets of the country. As we were among the 

* Senior member of the firm of E. and A. Mudge & Co. 



236 APPENDIX: 

earliest to commence the wholesale trade, which has been continued 
to the present time, a somewhat extended account of the shoe-busi- 
ness here may be of interest to those who shall come after us, as it 
will show to some extent its rise and progress in this country. 

We have not confined ourselves to the shoe-business so ex- 
clusively as some other towns. It used to be said of Lynn, that 
all the inhabitants worked upon shoes except the minister, — and 
that he made his own. It was not so with Danvers. It is told of 
the Rev. Dr. Wadsworth, that one day, as he was going to get a 
pair of shoes made, he was seen coming, and the shop was all 
swept before he came in. He looked around, and remarked that 
it did not look as though there was much work done there ! When 
he came for his shoes the floor was well covered with leather-chips. 
He then observed that " it looked as though they did something." 
The good doctor was wise and prudent in regard to the treasures 
of this world, as well as those of the next ; and he liked to see his 
people industrious and thrifty. 

Until the present century there was nothing done except what 
was called custom-work. A person bought a side of sole-leather, 
a side of upper-leather, a calf or a morocco skin, and had the 
shoemaker come to his house, and make a pair of shoes for such of 
the family as might be in need. Or the shoemaker would provide 
himself with the different kinds of leather ; and those in want of a 
pair of shoes would call upon him, have the measure taken, and 
the shoes made as directed. Early in the present century the 
wholesale trade was commenced here. At first men's sewed slip- 
pers were made, and packed in barrels, and sent by sea-captains to 
Baltimore and other places to be sold, if they would bring a fair 
price and ready pay : if not, they were brought back. During the 
war of 18 1 2 they were sent by horse-teams. 

At this time the soles of shoes were all sewed on. The making 
of pegged shoes had not been thought of. One of our manufac- 
turers tried the pegging on of soles, and it soon became common. 
In a few years our manufacturers became largely engaged in mak- 
ing thick brogans for the Southern slaves. Instead of sending them 
to market, and getting ready pay, the buyers or commission-dealers 
would come to Danvers for the goods. They had to be sold for 
eight-months' notes ; the Southern planters being always short of 
money, as they spent so much not only in buying their plantations, 
but in buying their slaves. 

They wanted to get trusted through the year, until they raised 



APPENDIX. 237 

and sold their crops ; and, if their crops failed, their debts were put 
over until another year. Sometimes the streams would be so low 
that their crops could not be floated down to the sea : this, and 
various other causes, would produce delay in their payments ; so 
that our Danvers manufacturers needed all the " time " they could 
get on their stock and work. This led them to pay their workmen 
in orders on the stores, where they could obtain their groceries and 
dry goods. These orders were not as good as the money ; but still 
the work with this kind of pay was a great advantage to the people, 
as all of a family who were old enough to work could assist in 
some way, either upon the closing, binding, or making. This 
could be done when work was not needed upon the land, in winter 
as well as summer, in the evening as well as daytime. These 
orders were more convenient for the storekeeper than trusting a 
large number of workmen for small amounts ; for he would receive 
a note for them, which he could usually obtain the money on by 
getting it discounted at some bank. The demand for bank facili- 
ties created by the shoe-business led to the establishing of the 
Village Bank, in 1836, now the First National Bank of Danvers. 
Sometimes the manufacturer would connect storekeeping with his 
shoe-business, so as to pay his workmen with his own goods: but 
this was never very satisfactory to the workman, as he was obliged 
to take such goods as the manufacturer happened to have ; while, 
when he took an order, he could usually have it upon any store in 
town or in the vicinity. The shoe-business wrought a great and 
happy change in many families in town. Until that was introduced, 
the sons and daughters of those who had not a farm large 
enough to employ them at home had to go out to live, causing 
sadness to parents and children ; but they could all remain at home, 
and work upon shoes. 

When the large farmers could not find a supply of help from 
their neighbors, they found it in New Hampshire. Many will 
remember the stalwart young men and women who came from that 
State some fifty years since to assist the farmers and their wives. 
In this way, in part, as well as towards the West, commenced the 
drain, from the " hill towns " of New England, of their young 
people. 

It was the custom of those who manufactured thick shoes to 
store them in the attic until the selling season, when they would 
be prepared, and put in cases for the market : those of the same 
kind were put together, although made by different persons. 



238 APPENDIX. 

When brought in by the workman, the manufacturer would ex- 
amine and count them, throwing them upon the pile to which they 
belonged. 

It was said of some of the shoemakers, that when any of the 
shoes were damaged by cutting, or otherwise, that they would try 
to assist in counting, throwing the bad shoes over the top of the 
pile, so that they would not be seen ; but, if they succeeded at this 
time, they were liable to be caught when the shoes were packed 
for market, as the trained eye of the manufacturer could distin- 
guish the shoes made by the different workmen. The shoes to 
him were like the book whose author was asked why he did not 
sign his name to it : he answered, that his name was written upon 
every page. 

The shoe-manufacturers of this town were quite prosperous until 
the great financial crisis of 1837, when they suffered great loss by 
bad debts and general shrinkage of prices. The shoe-business 
had become well distributed about town ; a considerable amount 
being done at the Plain, the Port, Putnamville, and in the school- 
districts Nos. 4 and 6. About this time several young men in 
School District No. 5 commenced manufacturing shoes : they made 
kinds somewhat different from those manufactured in other parts of 
the town, and sold them in a different manner. The kinds 
were women's, misses', and children's grain, goat, and kid, pegged 
shoes. They would take them to Boston with horse and wagon, and 
there exchange them for part money, and the balance in leather. 
This furnished them with money to pay their workmen with, in- 
stead of orders. The profits, if any, were very small. The manu- 
facturers in other parts of the town would rather look down upon 
these young men ; but in a season when many of the Southern 
notes came back protested for non-payment, they began to think 
that those " Meeting-House fellows," as they were sometimes 
called, were better off than themselves. 

They were called " Meeting-House fellows " because they lived 
in the vicinity of the Brick Church, at that time the jDrincipal one 
in that part of the town now retaining the. name of Danvers. 

For twenty years, from the crisis of 1837 to the great crisis of 
1857, the shoe-manufacturers of this town enjoyed a good degree 
of prosperity. The principal change in the mode of manufacturing 
in this time was in the use of some machines. The manufacturers 
of Danvers have not been behind those in other towns in the 
invention and the owning of patent rights of machines, and in intro- 



APPENDIX. 239 

ducing them into their manufactories. At the commencement of 
the twenty years referred to, about the only machine in use was a 
roller of some two feet in length, which the manufacturer used to 
roll the softer pieces of his sole-leather, and a shorter one which 
the shoemaker used to roll the soles instead of hammering them 
upon the lapstone, as he had formerly done. Soon one of our 
manufacturers invented a splitting-machine, by attaching a knife 
to a rolling-machine, just back of the rollers. This was very con- 
venient for splitting the thick pieces of sole-leather. From this 
time during these twenty years, there were many machines invented, 
and brought into use, with more or less success. The most impor- 
tant ones that came into general use were the machines for cutting 
the soles, and those for closing and stitching the uppers of shoes. 

Pegging-machines were used to some extent. One of our shoe- 
manufacturers, Mr. Samuel Preston, invented and obtained the 
first patent ever issued for a machine to peg shoes. The paper is 
dated March 8, 1833, and is signed by Andrew Jackson, President 
of the United States. Mr. Preston still has the shoe from which 
he obtained this patent. 

The four years from July, 1857, to July, 1861, were very disastrous 
to the shoe-manufacturers of this town. Few, if any, made money 
during this time, and a large proportion lost all they had by bad 
debts ; and it was the same generally with the shoe-manufacturers 
throughout New England. Those having a Southern trade suffered 
least in the crisis of 1857 ; but in 1861, when the slaveholders' 
rebellion commenced, and the South repudiated her Northern 
debts, if one's trade was mostly at the South, there was no way for 
him to escape the loss of all he was worth, unless his capital was 
unusually large for the amount of his business. This is probably 
the only time in the history of the trade when it was not compara- 
tively safe for one to extend his business, so that his indebtedness 
would be three times the amount of his capital : that is, if he was 
worth $25,000, he could owe ^75,000, having property amounting to 
$100,000 to pay it with ; he could then suffer a shrinkage of twenty- 
five per cent upon all trusted out, and upon all property on hand, 
and meet his payments in full. 

It was a rule of the late Amos Lawrence to keep his business so 
that he could suffer a shrinkage of forty per cent, and meet his 
payments ; but he was in the dry-goods trade, where the fluctua- 
tions are greater than in the shoe-trade. 

The shoe-manufacturers of this town were very prosperous dur- 



240 APPENDIX. 

ing the war, and since that time the business has yielded a fair 
profit. 

Within the last few years there has been with many a complete 
change in their mode of manufacturing, almost as much as in 
making of cloth when the factory was substituted for the house 
spinning-wheel and loom. Instead of having the workman take 
the stock to his home, and there make the shoes as formerly, all 
parts are now done at the factory, with many different machines 
run by steam or water power. 

Perhaps the present mode of manufacturing can as well be shown, 
and also the size and shape of a factory considered convenient for 
a given amount of work, by describing one of our Danvers facto- 
ries, as in any other way. 

The capacity is for 1,500 pairs daily of women's and misses' 
pegged or sewed shoes ; and the average value of the goods about 
two thousand dollars a day, or six hundred thousand dollars a year. 
The building is 125 feet by 2,Z f^^t, with a boiler-room on the rear 
end 2iZ ^^^t by 20. The building is three stories high, besides 
basement and attic, which are good rooms ; making five floors, all 
well lighted. It is without plastering. The rooms are ceiled on 
the sides with hard pine, and varnished ; overhead they are finished 
and painted. A boiler of 50-horse power and an engine of 25-horse 
power are used for heating the whole building, for running the 
machinery and elevator, and pumping water to a tank in the attic 
for the supply of all parts of the building. In cutting and prepar- 
ing the sole-leather, machines are used for stripping, rolling, split- 
ting, sole-cutting, dieing-out, rounding-up, moulding, channelling, 
shanking, thinning edges of soles, and skiving stiffenings. For 
fitting the uppers, there are also various machines for closing, 
stitching, and binding, and for stamping, scalloping, punching, eye- 
letting, staying, rubbing-down, rolling, and bobbin-winding. In 
the making-room, machines are used for lasting, sewing, pegging, 
beating-out, edge-setting, heeling, heel-grinding and burnishing. 
In the room for finishing the bottoms are machines for sanding 
and brushing. 

It is estimated that the cost of making shoes with machinery is 
only about three-fifths as much as by hand-work. The labor is 
only about fifty per cent as much ; and the use of the building 
and machinery, and the cost of running, about ten per cent ; making 
sixty per cent, or three-fifths. 

When making fifteen hundred pairs daily, about one hundred and 



APPENDIX. 241 

fifty workmen are employed. The number of males and females is 
nearly equal, with some young boys and girls. The pay of those 
old enough to do a full day's work ranges from two to four dollars 
a day for males, and from one to three for females. Males and 
females receive the same pay for the same work. Most of those 
employed work by the piece ; that is, they are paid a certain 
amount per set for the part of the work they perform. 

The manner of selling boots and shoes has changed, as well as 
the mode of manufacturing them. Many of the manufacturers 
have stores in Boston, where they sell their goods ; having several 
factories located in different towns, and making a different line of 
goods at each factory. The buyers from a distance go out of 
Boston only to a few of the towns where a large number of manu- 
facturers are located. There are advantages, in being able to sell 
goods at the factory ; but, on the other hand, much is lost in manu- 
facturing by using dark, inconvenient rooms, occupied because 
they are situated in a favorable place for the buyers to call. It is 
thought by many that the time will soon come when all the sales- 
rooms will be separated from the factories in the shoe-business, as 
is now the case in the cotton and woollen business. 

The manner of paying the workmen with orders upon the dry 
goods and grocery stores passed away some twenty years since. 
They are now paid in money, once a week or once a month. At 
the commencement of the war the shoe-manufacturers changed the 
terms of selling their goods from eight months' time to cash, or 
thirty days' time, which continued some years ; but the buyers soon 
began to ask for more time, and now most of them who are in 
good standing buy on six months, some with the privilege of pay- 
ing in thirty days, at a discount of five per cent, if they prefer to 
do so, instead of giving a note. 

Within a few years the shoe-manufacturers and other business 

men have adopted a change in regard to notes. They have printed 

upon their bills, or statements, " All notes payable to your own 

order : " so that the receiver can sell them without putting his own 

name upon them, or being held for their payment, 2:)rovided he can 

find any one to buy them. Upon single-name notes, as they are 

called, the rate is higher than upon indorsed notes, if the indorser 

is in good credit ; but it is very convenient for the business man to 

be able to sell a part of his notes, if he holds more in amount from 

one party than he likes ; as it gives him an opportunity to sell the 

same party more goods, and hold only the desired amount of notes. 
16 



242 APPENDIX. 

The rate at which a person's note sells is usually the best test 
that can be had in regard to his standing, if he has been long in 
the business, or has done enough to be known in the market. By 
disposing of a part of his notes in this way, the seller can learn the 
value of the rest. 

Note-brokers do a large business at selling notes on a commission 
of :|: of I per cent. 

Unless one's note averages to sell below ten per cent, it is very 
difficult for him to succeed in business, as he is not able to buy 
his stock low enough to sell at a profit. It is probably better for 
him to reduce his business, or try and obtain more capital by taking 
a general or special partner, as many do who have more ability and 
energy than money. 

The capacity of the shoe-manufactories of this country at the 
present time is said to be much larger than is needed to make the 
amount of goods used. Some suppose enough could be made in 
six months to meet the demand for one year. This leads to sharp 
competition : as all wish to run their factories as much of the time 
as possible. It also makes the business very irregular. The buy- 
ers want most of their goods sent in January, February, and March, 
for summer wear, and July, August, and September, for the winter. 
Boots and shoes are made largely as they are ordered ; and the 
buyers are not willing to give their orders but a short time before 
the goods are wanted. This leads the manufacturers to do all they 
can through the two selling seasons of the year, of about three 
months each ; which are followed by about the same length of 
time when many of the workmen are out of employment. This is 
hard for the workmen ; and the manufacturer suffers loss and in- 
convenience by having his factory stand idle, and his workmen 
scattered twice a year. This loss has to be made up — together 
with the profit, if there be any — in the six months while the fac- 
tory is in operation. One cause that has helped produce the large 
number of shoe-factories is, that a few years since efforts were 
made to introduce shoe-manufacturing into many places where it 
did not exist, in the hope of building up the towns. Individuals 
offered buildings free of rent, and proposed to loan money on 
favorable terms. Towns offered to exempt from taxes ; and stock- 
companies were formed to carry on the business. These efforts 
were not very successful ; but they undoubtedly did something to- 
wards causing the over-supply of shoe-manufactories which we have 
in New England at the present time. 



APPENDIX. 243 



D — Page 160. 

Previous to 1849, the books of the town appear to contain the 
account only of taxes assessed upon the inhabitants, without any 
statement of the total valuation, although it is very likely that 
there may be some such statements which I have not happened 
to see. There are among the papers of Judge Holten, in the pos- 
session of Mrs. Philemon Putnam, certain schedules showing the 
amount of property of various descriptions in the town, one of 
which, for the year 1771, I will transcribe. It is entitled, " A Copy 
of the Valuation of the Town of Danvers;" it being, of course, the 
original and undivided town. 

Polls Rateable 427 

Polls not Rateable 66 

Dwelling-Houses, Shops under the same Roof, or adjoining to them . 278 
Tan-Houses, Slaughter Houses, Shops seperate from Dwelling Houses 

Pot and Pearl Ash-works 57^ 

Still-Houses 

Ware-Houses .........••• 5 

Superficial Feet of Wharf S566 

Grist-Mills, Fulling mills and Saw Mills 13 

Iron works and Furnaces, and all other Buildings and Edifices . . 3 
The Annual Worth of the whole Real Estate without any Deduction, for 

more than ordinary Annual Repairs ^03163 17 J". 8^, 

Servants for Life between 14 and 45 years of age 33 

Tons of Vessells 340 

An Account of each Persons stock in Trade .... £-7^1 6j-. 8^/. 

Factorage or value of Commissions or Marchandize .... 

Money at Interest £S-09 6s. od. 

Horses * . . . 287 

Oxen 297 

Cows 888 

Goats and Sheep 14H 

Swine 317 

Acres of Pastorage 6798 >^ 

The Number of Cows s* Pastorage will keep 141 1/^ 

Acres of Tillage Land 897 _^ 

Bushels of grain 16035 

Barrels of Syder 2401 

Acres of Salt Marsh 89^ 

Tons of Salt Hay 98^ 

Acres of English Mowing 242 i_J^ 

Tons of English Hay I27i>^ 

Acres of Fresh Meadows 1265 

Tons of Fresh Meadow Hay 984 



244 



APPENDIX. 



A general valuation was ordered throughout the province for this 
same year ; and the returns, so far as they are to be found, give the 
names of individuals. But there is only a fragment of the return 
from Danvers to be discovered ; though it is possible that a more 
thorough search might disclose the rest. 

There is, however, a' memorandum at the State House, contain- 
ing an account of the property of Danvers for 1781, somewhat sim- 
ilar to the one printed above, which I also give herewith. 

The sums in the second column are the totals of what is called 
" income " under each head. This income appears to have been 
the thine: aimed at throusfhout. 



Statement of Property in Danvers in 1781. 



" Income " on, 65 shillings 
" 18 



283 Houses, 

242 Barns 

59 Stores &c. " " 24 " 

6 Distilleries, Mills &c. " " 80 

1986 Acres and parts of an acre English Mowing, 13^. 
HOI Barrels of cider is. 

810 Acres of Tillage Land \os. 

1353 Acres of Salt and fresh meadows "js. 

5878 Acres of Pasturing 3^'. 

1 183 Acres of wood and unimproved land 8oj-.* 

4833^ Money on Interest .,.,.. 

678;,^ Amount of Goods and Wares and Merchandise . 

206 Horses 

274 Oxen 

880 Cows 
1039 Sheep and Goats 

182 Swine 

232;,^ Coaches, Chaises &c, 

25 Ounces' Gold, coined or uncoined 
2552 Ounces Silver " " " 
80^ Wharves &c. at 3 per cent. 

380 Tons Vessels &c. 3^. income 



dd. 



Value ;^6 


;^i236 





7 


191S 





4 


3520 





6j. 


3" 


14 


" I2J-. 


109 


4 


&c. . 


232 






■ Income." 
£ s. 

919 IS 

224 c 

70 16 

24 c 

I29I 18 

137 12 

405 C 

473 " 
881 14 

78 18 
289 19 

40 13 



439 12 



. 58 12 

2 8 

. 57 o 

;^5395 8 



There are apparent discrepancies between these two statements, 
which I cannot undertake to adjust. Certain figures, also, in 
either list, but especially in the second, are difficult to be accounted 



* The figures at this point seem to be plainly as here given ; but I can render 
no satisfactory account of them. 



APPENDIX. 245 

for. In 1781 there are reported fifty-nine "stores," whatever that 
may stand for; while the whole value of "goods, wares, and mer- 
chandise," amounted to but a small sum, and the " income " on 
these articles was ludicrously small. The account must, it would 
seem, be open to some misapprehension at this point ; since, from 
what we now know of this class of men, we may not believe that 
fifty-nine storekeepers would live upon a business no more pro- 
ductive, to say nothing of the six owners of "distilleries and mills." 

The number of swine appears, also, to be relatively small ; and it 
hardly bears out Mr. Proctor's assertion, that the Revolutionary 
heroes of this town were fed mostly upon " salt pork and bean-por- 
ridge ;" unless, indeed, we understand, that in 1781, the war being 
nearly ended, those heroes had eaten a considerable proportion of 
the swine, beyond the annual production. But, in fact, live stock of 
all descriptions, excepting cows, had fallen off heavily within those 
eventful years. The comparison of the two accounts will furnish, 
also, other indications of the severity of the times. 

Of "coaches and chaises," there could have been but few; and 
the catalogue of pleasure carriages for that period does not go 
much further. It is doubtful if there was at that time a wagon, or 
light four-wheeled carriage of any description, in the town, or, 
indeed, anywhere in the neighborhood. 

The increase of wealth of all descriptions within the last one 
hundred, or even the last fifty years, has been very great, — far be- 
yond what most persons now living are aware of. The change is to 
be seen in the improved quality and greatly enlarged variety of 
food in most households ; in the possession of clothing much more 
abundant in amount, and better suited to the extremes of the cli- 
mate ; in the larger size and better aspect of dwelling-houses, in their 
greater comfort for light and warmth, and in their more convenient, 
ample, and elegant furnishing ; in the multiplication of books and 
of objects of art, of which the former were rare, and the latter 
almost unknown, in earlier times ; in the great improvement in tools 
of all descriptions, and of carriages, not to speak of railroads, and 
in the increased ability and opportunity for travelling ; and in some 
lightening, in general, of severe and continued toil for subsistence. 
Proofs on all these points are ample. All classes of our population 
have felt the change, — the poorer not least. Within the memory 
of persons not old, men worked in brick-yards in winter for fifty 
cents a day, and got such jobs as a personal favor. This is but a 



246 APPENDIX. 

specimen. The cost of the necessaries of life, though less than 
now, was not low in proportion. 

The occupation of New England was a thing of hardship, wrought 
out with toil. It was very unlike, in all its conditions, to the set- 
tlement of new lands now going on at the West. Beyond the 
means of bare subsistence, earned only by the greatest diligence, 
our fathers, in all the early generations, had but little. 

Altogether, while the enervating and corrupting tendencies of 
wealth are to be guarded against, there is abundant occasion for 
gratitude to God for the enlargement of the blessings of the pres- 
ent life^bestowed upon us in these later times. 

E. — Page 117. 

Since preparing the account given above of the formation of the 
sabbath school, there has come into my hands a fuller and authen- 
tic record, from which I am able to make some additions and cor- 
rections. 

The organization as first formed, at the meeting held at Dr. 
Wadsworth's house, July 30, 18 18, was an organization of teachers 
only, and not of the whole school, as in later years. The first mem- 
bers were Samuel Preston, Edwin Josselyn, Betsey Putnam, Han- 
nah Putnam, Harriet Putnam, Nancy Putnam, Clarissa Putnam, 
Edith Swinerton, Betsey Pope, Eliza Putnam, and Eliza Preston. 
They voted to form themselves into a society " by the denomina- 
tion of the Danvers Sabbath-school Village Society." Samuel 
Putnam and Philip Dale, jun., were admitted as members, by vote, 
at the first meeting. These persons were the first teachers ; and 
their names should have been given as such upon p. 117, since the 
list at that point embraces only scholars. Asenath Preston, Polly 
Preston, Mary Pope, and Porter Kettelle were chosen members in 
the August following ; and in September, Gilbert Tapley, Polly 
Browne, Betsey Dale, Sally Flint, and Emma Putnam were ap- 
pointed " assistant teachers ; " and these, with several others, were 
elected members in the next spring. 

At the first meeting Samuel Preston was chosen " director," and 
Betsey Putnam " directress." They had for " assistants " Samuel 
Putnam and Clarissa Putnam ; and Edwin Josselyn was treasurer. 
For several years meetings were held annually, in the spring, for • 
choice of officers. The school was not held through the winter 
months. 



APPENDIX. 247 

Miss Betsey F. Putnam, who had suggested the project, was pre- 
vented by her deafness from taking an active part in it ; and, among 
the ladies, a great share of labor was borne by the sisters Hannah 
and Betsey Putnam. 

It was provided in the constitution, that the sessions of the school 
should not exceed an hour and a half in length, " lest the children, 
being wearied by long confinement, religious exercises should 
become tedious, which would defeat the design of the institution." 
The exercises appear, in fact, to have occupied only about half an 
hour. They consisted largely, at first, of recitations of texts of 
Scripture ; and, of these texts, some of the children learned a large 
number. A catechism was also used for the younger classes. 
There was an elaborate system of record, and of rewards for punc- 
tual attendance, and for committing the Scripture to memory. The 
prizes consisted of " a printed hymn," or " a tract, with an appro- 
priate cover." 

There was also a provision, which would be singular in our time, 
for "punishments and forfeitures." It was to the effect, that schol- 
ars " absenting themselves from school without sufficient reason, 
after having been called on three times, should be liable to exclu- 
sion ; " and that any scholar "found guilty of lying, swearing, fight- 
ing, stealing, or any indecent or immodest conduct, and who, 
after repeated admonitions, will not desist from such conduct, shall 
be dismissed, and forfeit the rewards to which he was entitled at 
the time of his exclusion." 

It is worthy of notice, that not more than one or two of these teach- 
ers were professing Christians at the opening of the school ; though 
a large proportion of them became such in later years. We may 
learn thus, that, though none should delay entering with the whole 
heart upon a Christian life, yet, where this has not been done, it 
may be a suitable and hopeful thing to engage in the study of the 
word of God, and in the effort to impress its truths upon the minds 
of others. 

F. — Page 51. 

I adhere to the conclusion at first announced, that there should 
be no attempt in this book to set forth the particulars of the witch- 
craft historv'. But I have been since led to think that there should 
be furnished some brief sketch, not of the historical and personal 
details, but of the general principles and methods which charac- 
terized those strange proceedings. So much may perhaps be 



248 APPENDIX. 

necessary to make intelligible the references contained in this 
history, and to render thus complete what may properly be regarded 
as the record of the parish itself. This narrative may fall, also, 
now or in future times, into the hands of those who will not possess 
the larger work in which the whole topic is so amply treated. 

The theory of witchcraft, as held in New England and through- 
out Europe, at the period under review, was substantially this : 
That the Devil, in his desire to torment men, could not visit them 
readily with bodily sufferings, except through the agency of some 
human being, employed as a confederate. This confederate was a 
witch (the term "wizard" was little used). With this ally the Devil 
made a formal bargain ; and he had it in writing. He required the 
name to be signed in a book. Very unfairly, he kept the record him- 
self, and does not appear to have furnished his partner with any copy. 
He set a mark upon the bodies of his followers, not readily dis- 
cernible except to himself, though much sought for, and often sup- 
posed to be found, in the witchcraft trials. He had his infernal 
imitations of the Christian sacraments, and caused his confederates 
to be baptized ; and met with them to drink, in pledge, the blood 
of men. One such notable observance was declared to have been 
held upon the parsonage lands in this place ; but the spot has never, 
that I know of, been determined. The terms of the contract, so far 
as they came to light, seem to have been unfair throughout ; which, 
perhaps, was to have been expected of the Devil. Thewitch made 
herself over to the Evil One, to do his work, and to be his. She got 
little, apparently, in return, except that she was furnished with 
his work to do, and with certain preternatural facilities for its 
accomplishment. The witch had, it might be, a yellow, or other 
bird to take care of ; but not for music, and scarcely for company. 
She had also, perhaps, a spider or two, especially if her rooms 
were rudely fuiished, and dusty, to do her bidding as " imps ; " but 
these were useless for common housework. She was allowed also, at 
times, to ride rapidly through the air upon a pole or broomstick ; 
but only upon business-trips apparently, and seldom or never for 
pleasure. 

For mischief, the equipments were ample. The witch could tor- 
ment by the look of her eye only, and with every imaginable pain, 
whomsoever she chose, or whosoever might be chosen by her 
master. This was akin to the old and world-wide vexation of " the 
evil eye." For an absent person, the witch might make a " puppet," 
or image, with a shawl or a rag ; the form and material were not 



APPENDIX. 249 

essential ; and the person himself might be tormented at leisure, 
by the sticking of pins into this his representative image, or by any 
other violence put upon it. If personal visitation were required, 
the witch could ride lightly to the victim, as we have seen, in bodily 
form ; or she could go in her " apparition," or spectral shape, with- 
out help from the buoyancy of a broomstick, and do the work with 
equal effectiveness. 

When a person was suffering in an unusual manner from some 
strange disease, it was common to conclude that " an evil hand " 
was upon him ; that is, that he was bewitched, or tormented by some 
one in league with the Devil. The physicians themselves were not 
slow to suggest this explanation, which was a continuation, or 
reproduction of a belief that has prevailed in all ages among savage 
tribes. 

About this nucleus of witchcraft doctrine, there was gathered a 
vast and indefinite haze of traditional follies and fears. The 
practices or pretences of fortune-telling and enchantment, of 
jugglery and magic and conjuring and necromancy, were all 
concurring, with some power, at least, to bewilder the popular 
mind. Ghost-stories were in common circulation ; and ghosts 
themselves, always visible, as they are feared and talked of, were 
abundant. 

These dark beliefs were not held in equal fulness by all classes 
of people ; but there were few, if any, that were wholly free from 
their influence. They did not exhibit themselves in prominence and 
force at all times ; but they were always in existence, slumbering, 
and ready upon occasion to be awaked. The power of such 
delusions is subject to certain laws of periodicity. They rage for 
a space, and then are in comparative rest ; and after a time they 
break forth again, and in forms varied, it may be, from those they 
had borne before. Peculiar local and temporary conditions may 
also have much to do with their force and direction. The public 
mind is ever liable, withal, in some degree, to be struck with some 
sudden paroxysm or panic of fear or passion, by which the powers 
of reason may be, for a while, overborne and silenced. 

In intelligence, this place was not behind the rest of the Colony ; 
nor the Colony, still less, behind the country : yet it was relatively 
the dark period of our history. The first settlers were of excep- 
tional intelligence. Rut they were poor, and could not at once 
provide schools equal to the work that needed to be done ; and the 
children of the next generations were beneath the standard both 
of the earlier and later times. 



250 APPENDIX. 

There had been a few cases of trial and execution for witchcraft 
in the Colony previous to 1692. The matter had also been in 
divers ways stirred up just before that time, and when, as yet, 
nothing unusual had occurred in this place. Sundry houses had 
been visited with inexplicable noises, and movements of things not 
seeming to be touched with hands, as has happened in later times. 
And this may bring to notice, what has been often observed, the 
resemblance, in some points, between these witchcraft doings, and 
the phenomena of modern " spiritualism." Certain children also, 
and usually about these same houses, became bewitched, or came 
to be witches, whichever it might have been ; and astonished 
their elders by performances which it was thought the Devil only 
could have suggested. Full accounts of these proceedings were 
prepared, unwisely, with stress laid upon their wonderful nature, 
and with little note made of the deception that should have been 
manifest in some of them, and of the unwholesome and altogether 
useless quality that marked them all. Such narratives were prob- 
ably in the library of the minister of this parish ; and they got into 
the hands of the children. The minister had also in his house- 
hold certain servants, or slaves, of Indian or of mixed extraction, 
whom he had brought with him from the West Indies, and whom 
he might better have left behind. Their heads were full of every 
barbarian folly ; and they were most unfit to be the companions 
of children. Presently there came to be formed at the parsonage 
a little circle, meeting in the evening it is likely, consisting of the 
children of the family, with these servants, and some girls of the 
neighborhood, to read these books, with Indian annotations, and to 
put in practice as they might, of what they read, and to stock their 
minds with stories of murder and darkness, and devils, and the 
dead that could not rest in their graves. Nearly all of them were 
under twenty years of age ; some were not twelve. How far their 
parents knew what they were about, we may not be sure. But they 
ought to have known. Here was the breeding-place of the whole 
plague. Had the minister sent away these slaves with their free- 
dom and his final blessing, and had these parents kept their chil- 
dren at home, where all children belong, and had them busied 
with work or studies or plays, and rested with sleep, the Salem 
witchcraft would never have been heard of. As it was, with their 
winter-evening suppers of wonders and witches and ghosts, it is 
not a wonder that they were shortly themselves bewitched. They 
began to act and to suffer strangely. They could not be stopped, 



APPENDIX. 251 

or they would not stop. The astonished and appreciating notice 
that was taken of them made them worse. What exactly they meant 
to do at first, or, indeed, at any time, and with what motive they did 
it, no one now can certainly tell. It is not certain that they ever 
knew themselves. This only is clear: they had gotten into an utterly 
morbid state of both mind and body. And this is really what is 
most important to be known. It is of more account to understand, 
concerning such a condition, that it is one of disease to be guarded 
against, or cured, than it is to be able to determine the exact 
quality of all its unnatural and unreasonable manifestations. The 
truth is of wide application in our own times. The trouble with 
these girls arose with the long listening to stories which were 
bewildering, exciting, terrifying, and fascinating. These stories 
wrought upon their imagination, and their imagination upon their 
nerves. In a little time they were scarcely able, we may believe, 
to distinguish between what they imagined, and what they saw, 
heard, or felt. They grew to be excited, bewildered, bewitched. 
They were unnerved, unbalanced, unstrung, and in all ways unlike 
healthy and sensible girls. 

Beyond this, it may be of little use to undertake the analysis of 
these experiences. They were unhealthy and undesirable, and 
deserving chiefly to be avoided ; and they were of a sort possible 
also, ordinarily or always, to be escaped from. We need not in- 
quire, therefore, whether they did actually see or hear what others 
did not ; or have any knowledge, according to their pretension, of 
what was hidden from those about them. If they did, as I think 
they did not, it was of nothing profitable to themselves or to any 
one else. So as to their motives and moral standing in the public 
proceedings soon begun. There are the clearest evidences of what, 
in persons of sound body and mind, would be carefully meditated 
falsehood and shocking malignity. I believe they came to be 
both false and malicious. But what mixture of other and modify- 
ing qualities with these there may have been, in their disordered 
state, no one can tell. 

But they were bewitched. So the minister thought ; so the fam- 
ily doctor said ; and so the whole community agreed, with scarcely 
one to differ or doubt. 

The next step was to find out by whom the thing was done ; 
that is, who the witches were. The people were aroused and 
excited, and were in earnest to know. The performances of " the 
afflicted children," of whom there were, at the first, eight or ten, 



252 APPENDIX. 

had been spread abroad. Multitudes had witnessed their uncouth 
actions, and the horrible appearances of their sufferings ; for the 
fashion after which the girls suffered was not common. With due 
urgency, and after some real or feigned reluctance, the children 
began to name the individuals through whose agency, as they 
averred, the Devil was so besetting them. There was method in 
their selections. Some were persons of ill savor in the neighbor- 
hood, whether with or without good cause ; some, and a larger 
number, were those against whom personal or family enmities had 
been stirred up during the quarrels that had prevailed in the 
village, and who seem to have been accused to gratify some spite, 
or because the children had heard their friends mention their 
names with bitterness of feeling ; others, still more numerously as 
the trials went on, were singled out because they or their friends 
had spoken slightingly of the proceedings, or of some one con- 
nected with them. 

The first warrants for arrest were issued on the last clay of Feb- 
ruary, 1692. The preliminary examinations were held at first in 
the village meeting-house, — afterwards more frequently at Salem. 
The hearings began before the local officers ; that is, the magis- 
trates or " assistants," resident at Salem. But soon after, these 
opening examinations were taken in hand by the " council " itself, 
the most dignified and authoritative body in the Colony. There 
was no special local responsibility, therefore, for what was further 
done. After commitment, the trials proper, which were before a 
jury, were conducted by a special court, composed of six judges, 
appointed for the purpose. 

One story will serve for all. The court, the alleged culprits, the 
afflicted children, and a great crowd of people, were assembled. 
The judges, who showed their impartiality by assuming at first the 
guilt alike of all the accused, began by asking the prisoner why he 
did so foully, and with what particular devil he had agreed to tor- 
ment those children. The prisoner denied that he had done them 
harm. The children said he had ; and he denied it again. Then 
they were tormented. Then they were struck, pinched, pricked, 
choked, thrown down, and in all other ways beset that they could 
themselves think of. The judge then bade the prisoner see what 
he was doing. When he looked upon them, their sufferings in- 
creased. As he turned his head, their necks were twisted that 
way ; for they were not so afflicted as to be blind. Looking the 
other way, their heads went on that side with a wrench, and would 



APPENDIX. 



253 



not go back. Then the children cried out that his apparition was 
on the great beam, with a yellow bird in its hand. Then one of 
the afflicted cried that the appearance was coming to torment an- 
other of the afflicted, whom she called by name, and that one was 
tormented ; and she cried that it was going to another, and that 
other was tormented ; for they were not so afflicted as to be deaf. 
Then they yelled, and had fits ; and the fits were such as would 
never be come out of except at the touch of the prisoner's hand, 
that the " fluid " might run back into the witch again ; and with 
that they had rest, for so it was written in the witchcraft-books ; 
and these were not such fits that they might not feel when they 
were touched. If the calm demeanor of the person under trial 
affected the court, or if the knowledge of previous irreproachable 
character were likely to make a condemnation doubtful, then the 
sufferings of the children waxed great beyond measure. They 
earned then the name they bore. They wrung their hands and their 
necks, and twisted and twitched, and were bitten and strangled 
and sat upon ; they leaped and were lame ; they howled and 
writhed, and tumbled, and rolled over, and foamed at the mouth, 
and bled ; they rolled their eyes horribly in their sockets, and held 
them cold and stony and set, and put upon their faces the pallor 
and ghastliness of dissolution ; and they would lie, if need were, 
for hours, and well nigh for days, to all sight of those that beheld 
them, at the very door of death. So the witch was convicted and 
hiHig, and again the afflicted had relief; for they were not so 
dead as to be dead when the witch was hung. 

In like manner, justice was done to the nc-^jt witch, and the 
next, until nineteen were hung ; and one, an aged man, was 
pressed to death, according to the old English law, for refusing to 
make answer before this variety of court. 

The prospect for a defence, in fact, was not cheerful for any. 
The evidence most thought of was the testimony of these children ; 
and they told of things that lay out of the line of all other persons' 
knowledge. They said they saw the accused going to torment 
them and others, in a form invisible to common sight. If this kind 
of evidence was allowed, it was not, in the nature of the case, pos- 
sible to make any defence. The most decisive proof of being 
somewhere else while torments were alleged to have been inflicted 
was of no account. This proof was given continually ; since the 
accused were declared, by these children, to be engaged in that 
very work of mischief, while they stood in bodily form before the 



254 APPENDIX. 

judges' own eyes. If, therefore, the children would tell such stories, 
there was nothing for whomsoever they might accuse, but to be 
hanged. 

Unless, indeed, they would confess. None lost their lives of 
those that acknowledged their guilt. The way, therefore, to es- 
cape being hanged by these remarkable judges, was to furnish them 
with this only possible proof that one ought to be hung. 

For the trustworthiness of the accusers, their extraordinary suf- 
ferings were thought to be ample guaranty ; and it was not con- 
sidered, that, admitting their sincerity, they might be themselves 
deceived ; and that there was a double exposure to such mislead- 
ing, in the illusory nature of the things to which they testified, and 
in their own manifestly distempered state. 

The excitement raged until autumn. Of the executions, one was 
in June, five were in July, five in August, and nine in September. 
Not all, nor the larger part of these persons, were residents within 
this village parish : they were taken from throughout the whole 
town, and from nearly every town adjoining. The most of those 
that suffered death exhibited throughout their trial and imprison- 
ment, and to the last, a genuinely Christian combination of meekness 
and courage. Their conduct reflected honor upon that humanity, 
whose nobler traits, in that time of darkness, were visible upon 
themselves almost alone. 

More than twice as many, to save their lives, made false confes- 
sion. 

The fury was checked, partly by the natural effect of time, with 
slowly awakening reason ; and partly by the course of the accusers, 
in bringing charges against persons of such standing and character, 
that it was felt to be impossible that they could be guilty. Trials, 
however, continued to be held, and even with a few convictions, 
though without further executions, through the winter, until May 
of 1693 ; when the jails were opened by the governor's proclamation. 
The whole number of imprisonments, of several months' duration, 
cannot have been less than three or four hundred. Imprisonment 
in those days was fearful. It brought also poverty after it, for at the 
end no one went free till he had paid himself the whole cost of his 
own wrongful imprisonment. 

Belief in witchcraft was not altogether given up when the inno- 
cence of these particular victims was conceded ; and public ac- 
knowledgment and reparation came but slowly. Too many persons, 
and of too great note, had been involved in the wrong. Partial 



APPENDIX. 



255 



acts of justice and relief were passed by the legislature, at different 
times within the half-century following ; but there are some of the 
sentences still left, though by inadvertence, without the poor, but 
only possible remedy of reversal. 

In justice to the men concerned, it should be considered 
that, the persons afflicted being young, it was natural both that 
their condition should awaken the deepest sympathy, and that 
their own statement of its cause should be believed. The con- 
fession, also, of the crime itself by so many persons, though now 
known to be false, and though the pressure under which it was 
made should then have been more thought of, was still calculated 
strongly to confirm the delusion. 

We may wonder, in reviewing this account, that the children, the 
accusers, were not themselves thought of as the witches, if there 
were to be any. They were the only ones that claimed to exercise 
any preternatural powers or faculties, or to have any particular 
acquaintance with the Devil or his works. The persons accused 
and executed had never made any such pretence, but had made 
denial. They were distinguished by this from the whole brood of 
ancient witches, and of sorcerers and their kind, ancient and 
modern, — with all of whom pretension has been the essential 
thing. It was the astonishing severity of the sufferings these per- 
sons appeared to undergo which warded off suspicion from them, 
and which confused the minds of the beholders, as to the real 
bearing of the whole demonstration. 

I have spoken already of the connection between this witchcraft, 
and the teachings of the Bible. I will only add that nothing affirmed 
as real in the Scriptures bears any resemblance to what was here 
enacted, unless it be the demoniacal possessions of the New Testa- 
ment. And to the proposition that it might be possible, even now, 
for a spirit of evil to gain some mastery over a mind and body 
grievously disordered, and willingly, or even temptingly, exposed in 
the beginning and continuance of its maladies to such an unnatural 
control, I might have little care to oppose any very earnest de- 
nial. But let us have, then, the biblical remedies, along with 
medicine, and as themselves indeed medicinal. We may wish that 
into that ancient place of worship, while the uproar called a trial 
was going on, with those young women tearing and screaming and 
swooning, and the court and all the multitude besides half out of 
their wits with fright and horror, there might have entered one with 
somewhat of the composure and presence of the Son of man. 



2S6 APPENDIX. 

advancing with calmness and authority into the shrinking crowd, 
quelling the unseemly tumult, casting his look of search and in- 
dignation along that line of ministers and magistrates, rebuking 
the devils of every name and number, and bidding them be shortly 
gone ; and taking to himself with reproof, and with sheltering con- 
fidence and decision, those distracted children, who might well 
have been healed at his coming. Such an interposition by one of 
answerable bearing and dignity, and with a courage befitting a dis- 
ciple of the Master, even though without the superhuman endow- 
ments the Master bore, might jDOssibly have sufficed to turn the 
tide of folly ; and would, in any event, have been a procedure of 
which none other of his followers would ever have had occasion 
to be ashamed. 

As to original blame, the ministers deserve most. It was their 
business to have known, taught, and practised better. But after- 
ward they did do better, in holding back, coming to their senses, 
and making reparation, than most others.* 

For all that was done, we freely admit the errors of our fathers. 
We hope the representatives of other sinners of those days will do 
as much. But in comparisons, if so pressed, we yield nothing. 
We are not slow to fight. The war, be sure, will be one of onset, 
not mostly of defence. There have been crimes as great in other 
parts of our country, and later. The Papal Inquisition, or any of 
the great allied tyrannies, would have swallowed the witchcraft vic- 
tims, and would never have known that any thing had been in its 
mouth. Grappling with these despotisms, the Puritans got what 
undue severity they had. They are railed at now by men whom 
their stern vigor only made free to rail, or to think. The faults of 
the Puritans are made great, withal, by the issues of the work they 
wrought, and by the gaze of succeeding generations drawn upon it. 
It is of their fame that their sins are known. And this witchcraft 
darkness is a cloud, conspicuous chiefly by the widening radiance 
itself of the morning oa whose brow it hung. 

We shall stand by our fathers But we are willing rather to join 
with all our fellow-men in putting away the wrongs of the past, and 
in reaching toward the better things that are to come. 

* History of Witchcraft, vol. ii. pp. 350, 363, 364, 455, 459, 477, 478, 482, 483, &c. 
This village church is also er titled to the credit of a comparatively early and an ample 
acknowledgment of the wron? that had been done. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND NAMES OF PLACES. 



A. 

Acknowledgments, 4, 234. 

Adams' Corner, 116. 

America, 184, 191. 

Andover, 86, 98, 104, 106, 220. 

Andover Theological Seminary, 

125, 126. * 

Andover Turnpike, 105, 135. 
Andover, N.H., 123. 
Antwerp, 74. 
Arrangements, 7-10. 
Ashland, 216. 
Ashley River, 234. 
Ash Street, 16. 
Ash-Wednesday, 93. 
Aul)urndale, 152. 

B. 

Babylon, 63. 

Bangor Theo. Sem., 152. 

Bank, First National, 144, 237. 

Bank, Savings, 144. 

Baptist Church, 147-149. 

Baptist Church, First in America, 

203. 
Bears at a Funeral, 80. 
Beaver Brook, 106, 107, 109. 
Bellingham's Grant, 16, 208. 
Bells,' 71, 95, 99, 227. 
Bell Tavern, 212. 
Beverly, 16, 54, 109, 149, 160, 195, 

203. 
Bible, Alleged Discrepancies in, 73. 
Bible and Witchcraft, 46-50. 
Bible Reading in Meeting by the 

Puritans, 118, 119. 
Boston, I, 2, 15, 30, 35, 61, 62, 67, 

68, 70, 126, 143, 150, 158, 164, 

171, 184, 187, 194, 212, 213, 

216, 234, 241. 
Boston Confession, 37, 76. 
Boston, Eng., 171. 

17 



Boston, Help for Poor in, 90, 91. 

Boston and Maine R.R., 144. 

Boston Path, 105. 

Boston Recorder, 140, 141. 

Boston Tea-party, 198. 

Boston Town-meeting, 112. 

Bowditch Hall, 151. 

Boylston, 127. 

Boxford, 216. 

Boxford Road, 106, 107, no, 127. 

Bradford, 127. 

Braintree, 66. 

Bridgewater, 66. 

Brookdale, 15. 

Brookline, 152. 

Brooklyn, N.Y., 163, 191. 

Brunswick, 216. 

Bunker Hill, 89. 

Buxton's Lane, 135. 

C. 

Calais, 147. 

Calvinism, 139. 

Cambridge, 88. 

Carriages, 244, 245. 

Catholic Church and Parish, 149, 

150. 
Census, 159, 243-245. 
Center Street, 21, 104, 105, 106, 

112, 136, 159. 
Chapel, 137, 138. 
Charlestown, 68. 
Cherry Hill, 16, 208. 
Choir, 88, 89, 137, 138, 170. 
Choristers, 169, 170. 
Christian Religion, 35, 46-50. 
Church, 17, 37. 
Cliurch Confession, 76-78. 
Church Covenant, 37, 38. 
Church, First Members, opp. 38. 
Church, Membership of, 133, 172, 

173- 
Church and State, 18, 129-132. 

257 



2s8 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



Circle, Ladies' Benevolent, 136, 

137, 141- 
Clerks, 83. 

Clerks, List of, 166-168. 
Collins Street, 105, 106, 165. 
Colonial Road, 108. 
Colony, Massachusetts Bay, 18, 

22, 71, 129. 
Colony, Massachusetts Bay, Er- 
rors in Records of, 231, 232. 
Committees, 7-9. 
Committee, Standing, 18, 83, 165, 

168, 170. 
Common (Training-field), 59, 134. 
Confederation, 113. 
Confession of Mr. Paris, 43. 
Congregationalism, 17, 129-132. 
Congregational Association, 176. 
Congregational Publishing Society, 

1,6. 
Congregational Quarterly, 126, 235. 
Congress, 113. 

Congress, Continental, 113, 235. 
Connecticut Historical Society, 233. 
Conway, 152. 
Cornhill, 68. 
Councils, 43, 44, 82, 85. 
Covenant, Half-way, 61, 128. 
Cow-House River, 15, 202, 208. 
Cowlam, Eng., 165. 
Crane River, 16, 108, 202. 
Cromwell's Meadow, 23. 

D. 

Danvers, i, 5, 10, 14, 16, 34, 57, (>T, 
89, 106, no, 135, 136, 137, 144, 

145, 149, ^50, 154, I59> 193, 
203, 205, 206, 211, 213, 243- 
245. 
Danvers incorporated as District, 

74- 
Danvers incorporated as Town, 74. 
Danvers Center, 128, 143. 
Danvers Mirror, 74. 
Danvers Port, 16, 75, 103, 104, 

108, 147, 204, 238. 
Dartmouth College, 126, 163, 187. 
Dayton Street, 106, 165. 
Deacons, 25, 26, 163-166. 
Deacons not to be complained of, 

81. 
Deacons of Middleton Church, 222. 
Devil, 47, 48. 

Diary of Mr. Green, 58, 59-64. 
Dinner, 181. 



District System, School, 92. 
Dorchester, Church going from, to 

Dorchester, S.C, 234, 235. 
Dyson Road, 109. 



Earthquake, 71, 72. 
East Bradford, 127. 
East Danvers, 16, 204. 
Elegy upon Mr. Gre^, 65. 
Elm Street, 159, 164. 
Endicott Farm, 16. 
Endicott River, 15, 202. 
England, 165, 167, 171, 190, 191 
Episcopal Church and Ministers, 

,150. 
Essex County, 171, 182, 189, 190, 

213. 
Essex County Mercury, 214. 
Essex Institute, 58, 60. 
Essex Railroad, no, 144. 



Factory, Shoe, Description of, 240. 
Farmers, 14, 17, 18, 20, 27, 28, 32, 

33- 
Farmers, Character of, 34. 
Farms (Salem Village), 14, 145, 

233- 
Fast, 51, 52, 83, 102. 
Fast, Ministers, How helping at, 83. 
Felton's Corner, 15. 
Felton's Hill, 159, 202. 
Folly Hill, 203. 
Forest Street, 106, 107, 108, no, 

136, 152. 
Franklin Hall, 150. 
Frost-fish Brook, 16, 202, 204. 
Frost-fish River, 202, 203. 

G. 

Gallows Hill, 219. 

Geese, 87, 95. 

General Court (Legislature), 15,22, 
25, 33, 74, 90, 103, 108, 112, 
149, 154, 218, 231-233. 

Georgetown, 125, 144, 212. 

Georgia, 235. 

Gloucester, 112. 

Gothic Hall, 149. 

Grand Army Post, 155. 

Granite Hall, 146. 

Great Pond, Wenham, 107. 

Great River, 105. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



259 



Green Bay, Wis., 173. 
Groton, 147. 
Groveland, 127, 210. 

H. 

Hadlock's Bridge, 104, 107. 

Hadlock's Hill,' 23. 

Halifax, 112, 212. 

Hamilton, 123, 213. 

Hartford, 233. 

Harvard College, 22, 26, 35, 52, (i(j, 

88, 125, 126, 163, 220. 
Hathorne Hill, no, 112, 208. 
Haverhill, 62, 107, 211. 
High School, Holten, 116, 117, 144, 

147. 
High Street, 108, 151, 164. 
History of Danvers, 3. 
Hobart Street, 20, 66, 106, 107, 108, 

109, 136, 138. 
Hohen Cemetery, 115, 116. 
Holten Hotel, 112. 
Holten Street, 105, 115, 159, 163, 

165. 
Home Missionaries, 136, 137, 235. 
Home Missionary Society, 221. 
Horse Bridge, 16. 
Horse Sheds, 20, 96, 97. 
Hymn Books, 89, 217. 

I. 

Indian Bridge, 109. 

Indians, 129. 

Indian Trail, 107. 

Ipswich River, 16, 104, 135, 163, 

164. 
Ipswich Road, 15, 16, 105, 107, 108, 

109, 204. 

J. 

Journal, Boston, 9. 
Judge's Hollow, 121. 

L. 

Lands kept in same Family, 157- 159, 

201-205. 
Lawrence, 144. 
Lecture, "Thursday," 67, 68, 171, 

172. 
Lexington, 89. 
Liberty Street, 108. 
Library, Danvers Social, 95, 96. 
Library, Ministerial, 96, 140, 141. 
Library, Peabody Institute, 144, 145. 



Lincoln Hall, 151. 

Lindall Hill, 97, 192. 

Live Stock in Danvers, 243, 244. 

Locust Street, 107, 108, 109. 

Log Bridge, 104, 105, 106, 107. 

London, 35. 

Lunenburg, 164. 

Lynn, 88, "121, 152, 208, 218, 236. 

Lynnfield, 15, 16, 164. 



M. 

Machinery in making Shoes, 143, 

. 238, 239. 
Maine, 27. 

Manchester, N.H., 152. 
Manual of Church, 39. 
Maple Street, 109, 164. 
Maple-street Church, 10, 76, 145- 

147, 174, 197, 213. 
Maple-street Sabbath School, 155, 

156. 
Marblehead, 120, 134, 150, 220. 
Marietta, Ohi6, 163. 
Massachusetts, 106, 113, 121, 129, 

137, 188. 
Medford Bridge, 105. 
Medway, 227. 
Meeting-house, Cuts representing, 

19. 57, 93, 99' 139- 

Meeting-house, First, 18, 108; 
Second, 55-57, 85, 89; Third, 
93-95, 97, 98, 100, 102, 121. 

Meeting-house, Brick, 98-102, 121, 

138, 139, 185, 225-228, 238. 
Meeting-house, Present, 9, 138- 

140. 
Meeting-house, Seats in, 57. 
Meeting-house Road, Old, 20, 55, 

109. 
Meetings, Pubhc and Social, Date 

and Order of, 170, 171, 196. 
Merrimack River, 12, 107, 187. 
Methodist Church and Society, 151, 

173- 

Mexican War, Sermon on, 200. 

Middleborough, 126, 127, 163. 

Middle Precinct, 75, 103. 

Middleton, 16, 62, 86, 88, 104, 105, 
106, 107, 109, no, 123, 137, 
150, 158, 163, 164, 173- 

Middleton, Church in, 72, 73, 217- 

Middleton Pond, 217. 
Milton, 86, 88. 



26o 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



Ministers, Character of, 34, 182, 

215. 
Ministers, List of, 162. 
Ministry, Pasture. See Parsonage. 
Missions, Woman's Board of, 137. 
Money, Worth of, 20, 21, 26, 78, 80. 



N. 



Names, Lists of, 28, 29, 94, 95, 99, 

100, 117, 118. 
Newbury, 22, 215. 
Newbury Street, 106, 112, 164, 165. 
Newburyport, 163 ; Raih-oad, 109, 

112, 144; Turnpike, 106, 107. 
New England, 119, 128, 131, 174, 

186, 198, 207, 214, 235, 237, 

239, 242. 
New England, Immorality in, in 

1 8th Century, 78. 
New Hampshire, 237. 
New Meadows (Topsfield), 218. 
New Mills, 16. 
New Rowley, 25. 
New York, 148, 163. 
Nichols Street, 107, 109. 
North Andover, 107. 
North Bridge, 108. 
North Danvers, 136, 137. See 

Danvers. 
North Parish, 130. See Parish. 
North River, 202. 
North Street, 109. 
Notices, Political, from Pulpit, 142. 

O. 

Oberlin, 147. 

Orchard Farm, 202, 208. 

Ordination, Greatness of Occasion, 

85. 
Ordination, Expense of, 87. 
Organization of Parish, 15, 18, 130. 

P. 

Parish, 5, 17, 90, 9^, 98, 130, 151, 

173-175, sis- 
Parish, Date of Incorporation of, 
15, 231, 232, 233. 

Parish House, 71, 96. 

Parish Meetings, F'requency of, 83. 

Parish, Taxation in, 129-132. 

Park, 144. 

Parris, or Witch-house, none stand- 
ing, 91, 92. 



Parsonage, 21, 22, 53, 63, 91, 152- 

154. 
Parsonage, Addition to House, 73, 

74- 
Parsonage, Conveyance of, 27, 28, 

36,45, 153, 
Parsonage, Present, 133-136. 
Pay of Ministers for a Sabbath's 

Preaching, 83. 
Peabody, 15, 16, 75, 174. 
Peabody, Population of, 159, 160. 
Peabody Institute, 108, 144, 145, 

212. 
Penmanship of Ministers, 72. 
Phillips Academy, 220. 
Pierce's Brook, 218. 
Piety, Early, 88, 115. 
Pilgrims, 215, 216. 
Pine Street, 104, 109. 
Plain, The (Plains), 16, 76, 105, 108, 

109, 144, 14s, 148, 149, 159, 

164, 173, 174, 211, 213, 238. 
Plymouth, 197. 
Poplar Street, 109. 
Population, 29, 157, 159, 160. 
Porter's River, 108, 202. 
Portsmouth, 62, 126. 
Prayer, Answer to, 54, 71. 
Prayer-meetings, 62. See Meetings. 
Presidents of Continental Congress, 

113- 
Preston Street, 109, 163. 
Prince Street, 112. 
Providence, R.I., 203. 
Provincial Congress, 112, 113. 
Provincial Convention, 112. 
Public Trusts, Responsibility in, 

84. 
Puritans, 118, 119, 183, 214, 256. 
Putnamville, 106, 107, 238. 



R. 



Rates, 27, 28, 29. 

Reading, 81, 105, 158, 163. 

Rebellion, War of, 154, 155, 235. 

Records, 13, 21, 26, 27, 33, 40, 74. 

Records, Changes made in, 30-33. 

Revival, 132. 

Revolutionary War, 89-91, no, 

112, 163, 235. 
Roads, Sketch of, 104-110. 
Rowley, 88, 152, 182, 219. 

" Village, 107. 
Roxbury, 24. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



261 



• Sabbath Scliool, 117, 155, 156, 173, 

195, 246, 247. 
Sabbath School, First Members, 

117. 
Sabbatli School, SuperinterLclcnts, 

169. 
Saco. 152, 223. 
Saint Michael's Day, 93. 
Salem, 14. 15, 16, 17, 22, 25, 26, 28, 

3^, 35, S<^, 57, S^, 67, TS, 76, 

80, 90, 98, 104, 106, 108, 121, 

123, 134, 135, 136, 144, 149' 
150, 159, 165, 191, 212, 214, 
216, 219, 221, 252. 

Salem, First Church in, 54, 201, 204. 

Salem Village, i, 13, 21, 24, 27, 35, 
56, 59, ^60, 64, 66, 74, Ts, 87, 
129, 130, 139, 145, 157, 167, 
174, 183, 191, 204, 215, 218, 
222, 231-233. 

Salem Gazette, 121. 

Salisbury, 182. 

School Committee, 57, 123, 214. 

Schoolhouse, 58, 59, 203, 204. 

Schools, 57-61, 161. 

School Teachers, 57-60, 116. 

Sermon, Plan of one Great, 69. 

Sermons, Mr. Clark's, 67-70 ; Dr. 
Wadsworth's Dedication, 100. 

Sexton, 71, 95. 

Shoe-business in Danvers, 142- 
144, 235-242. 

Skelton's Nt^ck, 16. 

Slaves in Massachusetts, 121. 

Slavery, 141, 142. 

Societv, Charitable Female Cent, 
.123, 137. 

Societ}-, First Religious, 130. See 
Parish. 

Society, Free Evangelical, 148. 

Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge, Danvers and Mas- 
sachusetts, Mass., 137. 

Soldiers of Revolution, 89, 90, 245. 

Soldiers of War of the Union, 154, 

155- 

Soldiers' Monument, 154, 155. 

South Carolina, 234, 235. 

South Church, Pcabody^ 205. 207, 
208. 

South Danvers, 75. See South Par- 
ish andPeabody. 

South Parish, t^, 85, 103, 106, 127, 
174. 



State. See Church. 

State House, 23, 24, 231, 234. 

Stoves, 99. 

Style, Old and New, 15, 18. 

Style, Old and New, Significance 

of, 232. 
Style of Period after Revolution, 

106. 
Sylvan Street, 108. 
Syracuse, 116. 
Swedenborgian Society, 151. 

T. 

Tabernacle Church, Salem, 198. 
Tapleyville, 105, 115, 151, 164, 173. 
Taxation, Parish. 129-132. 
Taxation, Town, 160, 161. 
Temperance Reformation, no, in, 

128, 129. 
Tennessee, 221. 
Thanksgiving, 54. 
Ticonderoga, 90. 
Tithingmen, 193. 
Topsfield, 16, 17, 64, 6t, 107, 108, 

109, 122, 150, 218. 
Town, 5, 17. 
Town Appropriations, Officers, &c. 

160-162. 
Town, Division of, 90. 
Town, Organization of, 74, "jz^. 
Town House, 108, 144, 154. 
Town Meeting, 58. 
Towns, .Schools of Governmentj 

84. 
Treasurers, 168, 169. 

U. 

Unitarianism, 124, 125, 126. 
Unitarian Society and Ministers, 

150, 151. 
Universalist Society and Ministers, 

149, 150. 

V. 

Valuation of Town, 160, 243-245. 
Venice, 209. 

Village Hall, 121, 139, 156, 157, 
181, 198, 216. 

W. 

Wadsworth Cemetery, 45, 46, 64, 

80, 120. 
Wadsworth House, 92. 



262 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



Wales, 218. 

Watch-house, 55. 

Watch-house Hill, 55, 134. 

Water Street, 108. 

Water's River, 15, 202. 

Watertown, 67. 

Wealth, Modern Increase of, 245. 

Wenham, 16, 52, 53, 86, 107, 152, 

216. 
West Concord, N.H., 198. 
West Danvers. Sec West Peabody. 
West Indies, 35, 250. 
West Peabody, T^, 104, 158, 174, 

204. 
Weymouth, 88. 
Whipple Brook (Beaver Brook), 202. 



Whipple Hill, 163, 203. 

Wild Cats, 62. 

Wihnington, 86. 

Will's Hill, 62. See Middhton. 

Witchcraft, 4, 33, 39, 183, 186, 187, 

209, 2 ID, 213-215, 225, 247-256. 
Witchcraft, Connection with the 

Bible, 46-50. 
Wood, Bewitched, 92, 93. 



Y. 

York, Penn., 113. 

Young People's Meeting, 114, 172, 
196. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



The spelling of many of these names has varied with different periods of 
time, and with different families. It has not been attempted to bring it to entire 
uniformity. Changes of name by marriage may not in every case have been 
correctly indicated. 

It is likely that there maybe mistakes in the distribution of references among 
persons bearing the same name, either contemporaneously or in successive gen- 
erations. This is a matter not to be accomplished with absolute accuracy with- 
out more of research than the importance of the case would justify. There may 
possibly, also, be errors of inadvertence in this respect. The natural liberty of 
the reader to revise the work according to such better knowledge as he may 
think he has will not be interfered with by the author of this sketch. 



Abbie, Mary, opp. 38. 
Adams, Charles H., 161. 
Adams, Israel, 116, 169. 
Adams, John, 29. 
Adams, Joseph, 150. 
Adams, Solomon, 221. 
Aires, Nath., 29. 
Andrew, Daniel, 29, 32, 60. 
Andrew, Samuel, 60, 167. 
Andrews, George, 154. 
Andrews, Israel, 98, 99, t68. 
Andrews, I. W., 161. 
Andrews, John. 94. 
Anthony, George N., 205-208. 
Avery, J. A., 148. 

Babcock, Josiah, 123. 
Bachelder, Almira P., 117. 
Bachelder, D. H., 161. 
Bachelder, Elizabeth, 117. 
Bachelder, Ezra, 94, 99. 
Bachelder, Gideon, 94. 
Bachelder, Poll}-, n8. 
Bachelor,. A. W., 116. 
Balch, Mary, 117. 
Barnard, 80. 
Barnaby, James, 148. 
Barney, Jacob, 203, 204. 
Bartholomew, 218. 
Bayley, James, 18, 20-26, 28, 33, 

46. 51, 162. 
Bayly, Thomas, 29. 
Bell,' George W., 161. 



Bellingham Richard, 16, 218. 

Berry, Allen, 222. 

Berry, Ebenezer, 100. 

Berry, E. G., 117, 140, 192. 

Berry, E. G., Mrs., 163. 

Berry, John, 222. 

Berry, Mehitable, 117, 167. 

Bigelow, Timothy, 103. 

Bishop, Edward, 29. 

Bishop, Townsend, 203. 

Bly,J. F., 154- 

Boardman, 127. 

Boardman, Nancy P., 158. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 197. 

Boswell, J. A., 148. 

Bowman, G. A., 152. 

Boys, Joseph, 29. 

Brabrook, Samuel, 29. 

Bragdon, Joshua, 161. 

Bragdon, Nathanael, 161. 

Braman, Isaac, 125. 

Braman, Hannah P., 125. 

Braman, Mary P., 127, 136, 228. 

Braman, Milton P., 9, 61, 120, 121, 
125-129, 136,139, 141,142,146, 
151, 152, 162, 171, 172, 193, 
196, 199-201, 213, 217. 

Brand, James, 10, 147, 197, 206. 

Bremblecom, Samuel, 149. 

Briggs, 127. 

Britain, John, 71, 96. 

Brown, Ebenezer, 94, 99, 168. 

Brown, Henry, 204. 

Brown, John, 29. 

2G3 



264 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Brown, Joseph, 85. 

Brown, Polly, 246. 

Brown, Samuel, 145. 

Buckley, S. C, 149. 

Buckley, William, 29, 63, 64. 

Burley, 204. 

Burroughs, Geo., 26, 28, 30, 33, 162. 

Burroughs, John, 29. 

Butler, Richard, 100. 

Buxton, 87. 

Buxton, Amos, 94, 99, 135. 

Buxton, John, 28, 51, 56, 158. 

Cane, Thomas, 29. 

Capen, Joseph, 64. 

Carleton, Daniel, 117. 

Carnes, Mary, 88. 

Carril, Hannah, 73. 

Carruthers, William, 147. 

Chaffin, A. W., 147, 149. 

Chamberlain, Mellen, 187-191. 

Chaplin, Jeremiah, 148. 

Chase, Benjamin, 96, 99. 

Chase, F. A., 161. 

Chase, P. M., 161. 

Chase, R. T., 150. 

Cheever, Ezek., 29, opp. 38, 73, 167. 

Cheever, Israel, 100. 

Cheever, Nathan, 94. 

Chesley, Elizabeth, 117. 

Clark, Caleb, 100. 

Clark, Miss, 87. 

Clark, Misses, 192. 

Clark, Sarah, 83. 

Clark, Perley, 66. 

Clark, Peter, 66-82, 112, 162, 171, 

182, 213, 219. 
Clark, Thomas, 29. 
Cloyse, Peter, 29, opp. 38, 42, 219. 
Coggin, W. S., 216. 
Coicord, D. H., 8. 
Colcord, Sarah T., Mrs., 140. 
Coleman, 148. 
Collins, Benaiah, 99, 122. 
Colman, Benjamin, 68. 
Cooke, Elisha, 45. 
Cooke, Isaac, 29. 
Corey, Giles, 29, 211. 
Cotton. John, 171. 
Crawford, William E., 173. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 189. 
Cross, 87. 
Cross, Amos, 117. 
Cross, Betsey, 118. 
Cross, Hannah, 117. 
Cross, Joseph, 134. 



Cross, Mary, 94. 
Cross, Michael, 134. 
Cross, M. K., 216, 225-228. 
Cross, Peter, 99. 
Cross, Peter, 99, 139. 
Crowell, John, 87. 
Cuby, Elisha, 29. 
Cummings, S. P., 154. 
Currier, A. H., 208-210. 
Currier, Joseph, 83. 
Currier, M. J., 145. 
Curtis, Thomas, 161. 
Cutler, Manasseh, 123. 

Dale, Archelaus, 79, 83, 84-86, 91, 

94, 167, 168, 169. 
Dale, Betsey, 117, 246. 
Dale, Ebenezer, 99. 
Dale, Hannah, 117. 
Dale, Lydia, 118. 
Dale, Philip, 246. 
Dana, Samuel, 120. 
Darling, John, 29. 
Davis, Asher, 149. 
Davis, E. P., 8, 10, 169. 
Davis, Frank K., 8. 
Davis, Sarah, 140. 
Deland, Katherine, 58-60, 
De Long, H. C, 149. 
Demsey, Bartho., 100. 
Demsey, Isaac, 107, 166. 
Dennison, 218. 
Dexter, Henry M., 126. 
Dickinson, E. W., 148. 
Diman, James, 67, 80. 
Dodge, Allen W., 213. 
Dodge, Francis, 7, 9, 140, 161. 
Dodge, Jeremiah, 212. 
Dodge, Joshua, 95. 
Dodge, William, 29. 
Dodge, William, 104, 154, 161. 
Dow, Moses, 123. 
Downing, Emanuel, 202. 
Drinkwater, Arthur, 148. 
Driver, Stephen, 167, 196. 
Dwinnell, Joseph, 89, 94. 
Dwinnell, Mehitable, 117. 

Eastburn, Man ton, 150. 
Eaton, J. W., 148. 
Eaton, W. Winslow, 8, 161. 
Elliot, Andrew, 29. 
Elliot, Elizabeth, 73. 
Emmons, 198. 
Endicott, George W., 169. 
Endicott, John, 202. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF FERSONS. 



265 



Endicott, Jolin, 100, 103, 218. 
Endicott. Moses, 100, 103. 
Eppes, Daniel, 30, 74. 
Eppes, Daniel, 74. 
Estey, Augustus, 158. 
Estey, Simon F., 220. 
Evans, Eunice, 117. 
Evans, Lavinia, 118. 
Evans, S. J., 150. 

Faliero, Marino, 210. 

Filcli, Daniel, 219. 

Fellows, Emma, 116. 

Felt, Joseph B., 97, 171, 233. 

Felton, John, 159. 

Felton, Nathaniel, 29, 159, 202. 

Fletcher, J., 116, 146, 147, 152, 216. 

Flint, Amos, 100, 104. 

Flint, Benjamin, 117. 

Flint, B. H., 123. 

Flint, Clara, S., 116. 

Flint, Elijah, 75, 94, 99, loo, 123, 

166, 168. 
Flint, Elisha, 82, 211. 
Flint, George, 29, 158. 
Flint, Hezekiah, 98, 99, 168. 
Flint, John, 222. 
Flint, John, 29. 
Flint, Joseph, 99. 
Flint, Kendall, 117. 
Flint, Mary, 117. 
Flint, Richard, 97, 109. 
Flint, Sally. 247. 
Flint, Samuel, 75, 89, 91. 
Flint, Samuel, 74, 75, 166. 
Flint, Sylvanus, 158. 
Flint, Thomas, 75, 204. 
Flint, Thomas, 18, 29, 51, 56, 62, 

75, 158, 165, 167, 169. 
Flint, Thomas, 75, 117, 158. 
Floyd, George, 117. 
Foster, Benjamin, 147, 148. 
Foster, Gideon, 148. 
Fovvle, Rebecca, 118. 
Fowler, Augustus, 164, 204. 
Fowler, John, 98, 99, 100. 
Fowler, Samuel, 99, 103, 164. 
Fowler, Samuel P., 4, 58, 60, 74, 

89, 145, 146, 161, 213, 214. 
French, George W., 9, 140. 
French, George W., 8,140. 
Frary, Lucien, 222. 
Frost, A. F., 151. 
Frotiiingham, N. L., 172. 
Fuller, Abijah, 218. 
Fuller, Jeremiah, 158. 



Fuller, Jonathan, 73, 218. 

Fuller, Joseph, 73, 166. 

Fuller, Joseph, 158. 

Fuller, Mary, 73. ' 

Fuller, S., 158. 

Fuller, Sarah, 73. 

Fuller, Susannah, 73. 

Fuller, Susannah, 73. 

Fuller, Thomas, 15, 18, 23, 29, 165, 

218, 219. 
Fuller, Thomas, 29, 158, 165, 219. 
Fuller, Timothy, 94, 95, 1 00. 

Gardner, Daniel, 74. 
Gardner, John, 99, 104. 
"Geffords, Francis, 29. 
Gerrish, Elizabeth, 52. 
Gifford, Benjamin, 87. 
Gilford, William, 94. 
Gile, S., 123. 
Giles, John, 29, 167. 
Gill, John, 67. 
Gingill, John, 29. 
Goodale (Goodell), Abner C., 201, 

216, 217. 
Goodale, Ebenezer, 135. 
Goodale, Eben., 95, 96, 98, 100, 134. 
Goodale, Eleazer, 89. 
Goodale, Hannah, 119. 
Goodale, Holten, 97. 
Goodale, Isaac, 158. 
Goodale, Isaac, Mrs., 28. 
Goodale, Jacob, 85. 
Goodale, Jacob, 158. 
Goodale, James, 94. 
Goodale, Jsjmes, 143. 
Goodale, Job, 100. 
Goodale, Maria, 117. 
Goodale, Perley, 100. 
Goodale, Perley, Mrs., 140. 
Goodale, Robert, 204. 
Goodale, William, 94, 99. 
Goodale, William, 135. 
Goodale, Zach., 29. 
Goodhue, 163. 
Goodhue, J. A., 149. 
Gorham, Nathaniel, 113. 
Gott, Charles, 204. 
Gould, C. H., 104. 
Grant, 87. 
Grant, O. B., 116. 
Green, 120. 
Green and Russel, 79. 
Green, John, 59. 

Green, Joseph, 51, 52-66, 72, 162, 
171, 204. 



266 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Green, Joseph, 59. 
Green, Samuel A., 61. 
Green, T., 68. 
Green, Thomas, 148. 
Grosvenor, D. A., 161. 
Grover, E. A. H., 8. 
Guilford, David M., 107. 
Guilford, Elbridge, 117. 
Guilford, Sally, 118. 

Hadlock, James, 29. 

Hadlock, James, 29. 

Haile, Thomas, 29. 

Haines, Thomas, 29. 

Hale, 54. 

Hale, Matthew, 214. 

Haley, Joseph, 150. 

Hall, Stephen, 140. 

Hancock, John, 113. 

Hanson, J. W., 3, 91, 92, 149, 

159. 
Hapgood, Clara H., 116. 
Harrington, M. O., 116. 
Hart, Rufus, 8, 140. 
Hatch, Fanny H., 116. 
Hawkes, Eben, 134. 
Hawkes, Timothy, 154, 161. 
Haynes, William, 203. 
Hayward, Jesse, 100. 
Hayward, John, 87. 
Hayward, Mrs., 87. 
Henderson, Benjamin, 169, 192. 
Henry, Foster, 149. 
Herrick, Joseph, 29, 56, 57. 
Herrick, Zacca, 29. 
Higgins, 157. « 

Hill, Hannah, 195, 
Hill, James, 155. 
Hills, Nathaniel, 1 16. 
Hobart, Deborah, 66. 
Hobart, Peter, 66. 
Hobbs, Susannah, 73. 
Hobbs, William, 218. 
Hodson, F. A., 149. 
Hodge, Elias, 151. 
Holbrook, Charles H., 149. 
Holbrook & Son, 227. 
Holroyd, John, 148. 
Holt, 86, 95. 

Hoi ten, Benjamin, 29, 158. 
Holten, Hannah, 112. 
Holten, Henry, H2. 
Holten, James, 59. 
Holten, Joseph, 21, 28, 107, 112, 

153, 203. 
Holten, Joseph, 29, 59. 



Holten, Samuel, 79, 80, 82, 84, 85, 

87, 94, 96, 99, 105, I "-"7, 

122, 123, 153, 158, 167, 169, 

203, 213, 243. 
Hood, J. A., 222. 
Hood, R. B., 161. 
Hood, Richard, i6r. 
Hook, Hiram, 20. 
Hook, John, 20, 112. 
Hook, John, 66. 
Howard, A. S., 161. 
Howe, Frederic, 146, 165. 
Hubbard, Ebenezer, 221. 
Hubbard, James M., 222. 
Hunt, Ebenezer, 161. 
Huntington, 122. 
Hutchinson, Alfred, 8, 140, 165. 
Hutchinson, Ambrose, 135. 
Hutchinson, Asa, 100, 164. 
Hutchinson, Barnard, 165. 
Hutchinson, Benjamin, 51, 63, 165. 
Hutchinson, Benjamin, 133. 
Hutchinson, B., 23,117,140,164,165. 
Hutchinson, Clarissa, 118. 
Hutchinson, Ebenezer, 165. 
Hutchinscyi, Edward, 7, 8, 72, 140, 

156, 165, 169, 214. 
Hutchinson, Elias, 158. 
Hutchinson, Elijah, 7, 8, 59, 98, 

117, 140, 164, 165, 196. 
Hutchinson, Elisha, 117. 
Hutchinson, Eunice, 117. 
Hutchinson, Jeremy, 100, 165. 
Hutchinson, Jesse, 99, 164. 
Hutchinson, John, 85, 94, 99, 100. 
Hutchinson, Joseph, 18, 20, 23, 29, 

32, 33, 107, 133, 165. 
Hutchinson, Joseph, 158, 165. 
Hutchinson, Joseph, 99, 165. 
Hutchinson, Richard, 165. 
Hutchinson, Richard, 15, 28, 203. 
Hutchinson, Robert, 66.- 
Hutchinson, Warren, 165. 
Hutchinson, Ruthy, 164. 
Hyde, E. G., 7, 8, 140. 

Ingersoll, George, 99, 

Ingersoll, Nathanael, 26, 29, opp. 

38, 54, 55, 56, 59, 81, 133, 134, 

135, 163, 203, 209. 
Ingersoll, Richard, 203. 
Ingersoll, Samuel, 134. 

Jackson, Andrew, 143, 239. 
Jacobs, George, 159. 
Jefferds, Forrest, 221, 222. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



267 



Jerland, John, 46. 
Jerland, William, 29. 
Johnson, A. H., 222. 
Johnson, Ezra, 93. 
Josselyn (Jocelyn), Augusta, 118. 
Josselyn, Edwin, 195, 246. 
Josselyn, John, 100. 
Josselyn, Mary, 118. 
Judd, David, 60, 167. 

Kelley, 87. 

Kellom, Lot, 28. 

Kenny, Daniel, 73. 

Kenny, Ebenezer, 95. 

Kenny, Henry, iS, 28. 

Kenny, John, 25, 29. 

Kenny, Mary, 73. 

Kenny, Thomas, 29. 

Kettelle, Emma Putman, 118, 156, 

184, 246. 
Kettelle, John, 94, 95, 169. 
Kettelle, Jona., 100. 
Kettelle, Porter, 169, 246. 
Kimball, Dean, 7, 9, no, 140, 154. 
Kimball, E. D., 150. 
Kimball, George, 161. 
Kimball, Moses P., 8. 
King, Samuel, 74. 
Knapp, W. H., 149. 
Kneeland, S., 68. 
Knight, Jonathan, 29. 

Lambert, Eunice, 73. 

Lander, William A., 89, 107. 

Lawrence, 177. 

La\Vrence, Amos, 239. 

Lawrence, Charles, 8, 140. 

Lawson, Deo., 30, 35, 46, 162, 167. 

Leach, Lawrence, 203. 

Learoyd, Henrietta, 1 16. 

Learoyd, John A., 148. 

Learoyd, John S., 146, 156. 

Leeds, George, 150. 

Legro, J. C. P., 161. 

Lewis, Hannibal, 121. 

Lewis, Phebe, 120, 121. 

Lindal (Lindall), Timothy, 97, 109, 

169. 
Livermore, D. P., 149. 
Livermore, L. J., 150, 151. 
Lord, Joseph, 234. 
Lord, L. A., 116. 
Lyford, F. W., 161. 

Magill, W. L, 150. 
Marshall, John P., 1 16. 



Martin, George B., 7, 9, 138, 140, 

156, 166. 
Martin, John, 1 17. 
Mather, Cotton, 44, 183. 
Mather, Increase, 44, 64. 
Mazary, Joseph, 29. 
Means, James H., 235. 
McCullough, G. W., 149. 
McKeigue, Edward, 149. 
Merriam, James N., 222. 
Merrill, Joseph, 161. 
Merrill, Lizzie S., 116. 
Merrill, S. A., 161. 
Millett, Benjamin, 66. 
Milton, John, 189. 
Morrill, 86. 
Morse, Clarissa, 117. 
Morse, Sally, 118. 
Moulton, Benjamin, 117. 
Moulton, Sophia, 118. 
Mudge, Albert H., 8, 140. 
Mudge, Amos, 100. 
Mudge, Augustus, 7, 8, 9, 21, 121, 

140, 142, 156, 166, 168, 169, 228. 
Mudge, Catherine, 117. 
Mudge, Clara H., 116. 
Mudge, Edwin, 8, 9, 21, 140, 142, 

154, 235-242. 
Mudge, Josiah, 117, 140. 
Mudge, L. A., 140. 
Mudge, Otis, 143. 
Mudge, Simon, 94, 99. 
Mus.sey, R. D., 126. 

Nason, Elias, 37. 
Needham, 212. 
Needham, Anthony, 158. 
Needham, Elias, 7, 158. 
Needham, Jasper, 100, 104. 
Needham, Joseph S., 158. 
Newton, John, 96. 
Nichols, Abel, 166. • 
Nichols, Andrew, 94, 95, 99, 100. 
Nichols, Andrew, 4, 104, 109, no. 
Nichols, Benjamin, 95. 
Nichols, Betsey, 135. 
Nichols, Elizabeth, 73. 
Nichols, John, 29. 
Nichols, John, 79, 82. 
Nichols, John, 222. 
Nichols, Samuel, 222. 
Nichols, William, 29, 218. 
Nourse, Allen, 99, 164. 
Nourse, Daniel E., w"]. 
Nourse, Francis, 29, 203. 
Nourse, Francis, 91. 



268 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Nourse, Pamelia, Ii8. 

Nourse, Philip, 95. 

Nourse, Polly, 118. 

Nourse, Rebecca, 42, 203. 

Nourse, Ruthy, 118. 

Nourse, Samuel, 29, 42, 51, 167, 

219. 
Nourse, S. P., 117, 164. 
Nourse, S. Walter, 8, 104, 109, 140, 

166. 
Noyes, Nicholas, 54, 64, 65. 

Oakes, Caleb, 99, 104, 136, 142. 
Oakes, Mehital:)le, 136. 
Oakes, Mehitable, 136. 
Oakes, Nancy, 136. 
O'Reilly, 150. 

Osborne, Alexander, 29, 51. 
Osborne, Danvers, 74. 
Osborne, William, 29 
Osgood, George, 100, 213. 
Otis, H. G., 103. 

Page, Jeremiah, 89, 169. 

Page, John, 164. 

Page, Mary, 151. 

Page, Nathan, 95. 

Page, Sam., 90, 94, 99, 100, 103, 168. 

Palfrey, J. G., 121. 

Palmer, Thomas, 116. 

Parker, John, 127. 

Parker, Ruth, 118. 

Parris, Elizabeth, opp. 38, 39, 46. 

Parris, Samuel, 26, opp. 38, 35-48, 
51, 92, 162, 163, 183, 209, 210, 
213, 214, 217, 219, 233, 234. 

Patterson, Mary S., 10. 

Peabody, Achsah, 211. 

Peabody, Benjamin, 222. 

Peabody, Benjamin A., 164. 

Peabody, Charles, 86, 104, 106, 140. 

Peabody, Daniel, 169. 

Peabody, David, 211. 

Peabody, Francis, 222. 

Peabody, Francis, 221. 

Peabody, George, 144, 212, 221. 

Peabody, George H., 9, 140. 

Peabody, John, 169. 

Peabody, Joseph, 222. 

Peabody, Robert M., 165. 

Peabody, Thomas, 211, 212. 

Peabody, William, 218. 

Pease, Phebe, 87. 

Perkins, Henry A., 154, 161. 

Perley, Putnam, 117, 

Perry, 127. 



Perry, Jacob S., 161. 

Perry, James M. Mrs., 158. 

Perry, Jonathan, 117, 120. 

Perry, Mary, 118. 

Peters, Andrew, 72, 220. 

Peters, C. J. & Son, 2, 234. 

Peters, Hugh, 204. 

Phelps, Abigail, 118. 

Phelps, Elizabeth, 118. 

Phelps, Mary, 118. 

Phelps, William A., 222, 

Phillips, Wendell, 182. 

Phipps, 74. 

Pierpont, 54. 

Pike, John. 152, 182. 

Pindar, William, .104. 

Plumer, Eleanor, 118. 

Pope, Amos, 98, 99, 166, 168. 

Pope, Betsey, 195, 246. 

Pope, Daniel P., 154. 

Pope Elijah, 96, 99, 100, 117, 134, 

163, 164, 169. 
Pojje, Eunice, 118. 
Pope, Francis, 147. 
Pope, Ira P., 161. 
Pope, Jasper, 7, 9, 117, 134, 140, 

158, 164, 165. 
Pope, Jasper, 8. 
Pope, Joseph, 29, 56. 
Pope, Mary, 246. 
Pope, Nathaniel, 91, 93, 94, 134. 
Pope, Nathaniel, 7, 8, 105, 134, 

139, 140, 158, 164, 166, 169. 
Pope, Phebe, 1 18. 
Pope, Samuel, 134. 
Pope, Zeph., 105, 117, 134, 140, 158. 
Porter, David, 117. 
Porter, Israel, 28, 167. 
Porter, John, 204. 
Porter, John W., 161. 
Porter, Jona., 97, 98, 99, 166, 168. 
Porter, Jonathan, 168. 
Porter, Joseph, 18, 28, 32, 165. 
Porter, Joseph, 93, 94, 99. 
Porter, Joseph, 117. 
Porter, Moses, 89, 90. 
Porter, Zerubbabel, 94, 168. 
Pratt, Amos, 8, 161, 117, 135, 140. 
Pratt, George, 8. 
Prentiss, Caleb, 91. 
Prentiss, Henry, 21, 92. 
Prentiss, Joshua, 8. 
Prescott, Peter, 29, opp. 38. 
Preston, 177. 
Preston, Abel N., 100. 
Preston, Asenath, 246. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



269 



Preston, Charles P., 7, 8, 9, 156, 

166, 167, 181. 
Preston, Clarissa A. Putnam, 89, 

164, 195, 246. 
Preston, Eliza, 195, 246. 
Preston, Harriet W., 167. 
Preston, John, 166, 167. 
Preston, John, 167, 169. 
Preston, John, 79, 85, 86, 94, 99, 168. 
Preston, John, 137, 139, 140, 163, 

1 66, 167, 168. 
Preston, Levi, 90, 94, 98, 99, 100, 

166, 167. 
Preston, Levi, 139, 167. 
Preston, Polly, 246. 
Preston, Roger, 167. 
Preston, Samuel, 5, 7, 8, 117, 121, 

115, 136, 137, 140, 143, 155, 

105, 166, 167, 169, 181, 195, 

239, 246. 
Preston, Serena, 140. 
Preston, Thomas, 29. 
Preston, William, 117, 139, 167,169. 
Prince, Amos, 167, 169. 
Prince, Amos, 161, 167. 
Prince, Asa, 89, 90, 112. 
Prince, Caleb, 99. 
Prince, Charlotte, 118. 
Prince, Eunice, 118. 
Prince, James, 74, 167, 169. 
Prince, James, 85, 94, 167. 
Prince, Joanna, 195. 
Prince, John, 95. 
Prince, Jonathan, 112, 167. 
Prince, Lydia, 1 18. 
Prince, Moses, 90. 
Prince, Moses, 4, 7, 8, 20, 92, 104, 

107, 117, 157, 167, 192. 
Prince, Roljert, 167, 203. 
Prince, Ruth E., 118. 
Proctor, John, 202, 209. 
Proctor John C, 116. 
Proctor, John W., 34, 92, 245. 
Prudence, 87. 
Putnam, 60, 177. 
Putnam, Aaron, 85, 93, 94, 99. 
Putnam, Adrian, 9, 140, 158, 164. 
Putnam, Ahira H., 117, 169. 
Putnam, Alfred P., 150, 191-194. 
Putnam Allen, 94. 
Putnam, Allen, 184-187. 
Putnam, Amos, 82, 90, 93, 169, 211. 
Putnam, Amos, 99. 
Putnam, Andrew M., 117, 104. 
Putnam, Arch., 79, 82,85,94,164,167. 
Putnam, Asa, 158. 



Putnam, Asa, 81, 82, 93, 94, 164, 168. 

Putnam, Augustus, 117. 

Putnam, Benjamin, opp. 38, 51, 56, 
158, 163, 164, 165, 167. 

Putnam, Benjamin, 94, 99. 

Putnam, Betsey, 195, 247. 

Putnam, Betsey Y ., 126,127,195,247. 

Putnam, Betsey P., 156. 

Putnam, Catherine, 118. 

Putnam, Charles G., 158, 216. 

Putnam, Daniel, 163. 

Putnam, Daniel, 94, 164, 168, 169. 

Putnam, Daniel, 99, 100, 165, 166. 

Putnam, Daniel E., 117, 139, 168. 

Putnam, David, 90, 165. 

Putnam, David, 94, 99. 

Putnam, Eben, 99, 165, 166. 

Putnam, Ebenezer, 1 1 7, 141, 165, 169. 

Putnam, Edmund, 82, 164, 191. 

Putnam, Edward, 26, 29 opp. 38, 
51, 54, 56, 65, 73, 81, 106, no, 
158, 163, 165, 167, 168. 

Putnam, Edward, 73, 222. 

Putnam, Edwin F., 117. 

Putnam, Eleazer, 163, 169. 

Putnam, Eleazer, 94, 98, 99, 100, 

120, 126, 127, 168. 
Putnam, Elias, 164. 
Putnam, Elisha, 85, 94. 
Putnam, Eliza, 195, 246. 
Putnam, Elizabeth, 73. 

Putnam, Enoch, 85, 89, 91, 93, 94. 
Putnam, Ezra, 73, 99. 
Putnam, Francis P., 117, 16S. 
Putnam, Gideon, 85, 93, 94, 100, 

121, 164, 168. 

Putnam, Granville B., 194-197. 
Putnam, Gustavus, 117. 
Putnam, Hannah, opp. 38. 
Putnam, Hannah, 195, 247. 
Putnam, Harriet, u8. 
Putnam, Harriet, 195, 246. 
Putnam, Henry, 94, 167, 169. 
Putnam, Hiram, 116, 216. 
Putnam, Hiram B., 127, 156, 165, 

198-201. 
Putnam, Israel, 89, 217. 
Putnam, Israel H., 107. 
Putnam, Israel, 94, 95, 99, 100, 

165, 169. 
Putnam, Israel, 94. 
Putnam, Israel W., 115, 123, 126, 

152, 163. 
Putnam, James, 51. 
Putnam, James, 99, 164. 
Putnam, James P., 149. 



270 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Putnam, Jeremiah, 90. 

Putnam, Jesse, 99, 100, 137, 139, 

164, 166, 169. 
Putnam, Jethro (Col.), 95, 211. 
Putnam, John, 163, 165, 191, 203. 
Putnam, John, 23, 26, 28, opp. 38, 

56, 191. 
Putnam, John, 29,opp.38,5i, 57,167. 
Putnam, John, 91. 
Putnam, John A., l6l. 
Putnam, John C, 161. 
Putnam, John M., no, 158, 164. 
Putnam, John N., 163. 
Putnam, Jonathan, 29, opp. 38, 51, 

56, 158, 166, 167. 
Putnam, Joseph, 18. 
Putnam, Joseph, 57, 165, 166, 217. 
Putnam, Joseph, 74, 94, 99. 
Putnam, Joseph', 99, 164. 
Putnam, Lydia, 119. 
Putnam, Lydia, 118. 
Putnam, Mary, 158. 
Putnam, Mary, 211. 
Putnam, Mary Ann, 1 18. 
Putnam, Matthew, 94, 96, 99. 
Putnam, Matthew, 137, 166. 
Putnam, Moses, 99. 
Putnam, Moses, 135, 136, 142, 146. 
Putnam, Moses N., 166. 
Putnam, Moses W., 169. 
Putnam, Nancy, 195, 246. 
Putnam, Nathan, 95, 166. 
Putnam, Nathanael, 18, 23, 25, 28, 

opp. 38, 109, 158, 163, 164 191. 
Putnam, Nathanael, 166, 167. 
Putnam, Nathanael, 163, 164, 169. 
Putnam, Nathanael, 99, 103. 
Putnam, Olive, 163. 
Putnam, Orin, 164, 203. 
Putnam, Otis F., 108, 109, 121, 158, 

163. 
Putnam, Peter, 100. 
Putnam, Peter, 106. 
Putnam, Phebe, 135. 
Putnam, Philemon, 116, 158. 
Putnam, Philem. Mrs. 87, 140, 243. 
Putnam, Phineas, 93, 94. 
Putnam, Polly, 118. 
Putnam, Polly, 118, 140, 165. 
Putnam, Porter, 100. 
Putnam, Rebecca, opp. 38. 
Putnam, Robert, 158. 
Putnam, Rufus, 163. 
Putnam, Rufus, 154. 
Putnam, Samuel, 167. 
Putnam, Samuel, 164, 169. 



Putnam, S. 109, 121, 126, 158, 164. 
Putnam, Samuel, 163, 246. 
Putnam, Sally, 118. 
Putnam, Sarah, 73. 
Putnam, Sarah, opp. 38. 
Putnam, Sarah, opp. 38. 
Putnam, Sarah F., 126. 
Putnam, Seth, 99. 
Putnam, Simeon, 117, 154. 
Putnam, Stephen, 74, 90. 
Putnam, Stephen, 93, 94, 99, 169. 
Putnam, Stephen, 117. 
Putnam, Susan, 136, 140, 157, 163. 
Putnam, Tarrant, 89, 90, 166, 168. 
Putnam, Thomas, 18, 23, 26, 28,0pp. 

38, 158, 163, 165, 191, 204. 
Putnam, Thomas, 24, 26, 29, 45, 

106, no, 167, 209. 
Putnam, Timothy, 94. 
Putnam, Wallace A., 155. 
Putnam, William, 91, 94. 
Putnam, William, 106, 158, 165. 
Putnam, W. R., 7, 8, 9, 86, 109, no, 

n7, 140, 154, 156, 157, 158,165, 

166, 168, 169, 185, 204, 217. 

Rainoni, Charles, 150. 

Rament, Thomas, 29. 

Rament, William, 29. 

Rawson, Edward, 15, 231, 232. 

Rea (Ray), Archelaus, 94. 

Rea, Daniel, 29, 51, 167, 204. 

Rea, Jonathan, 23. 

Rea, Joshua, 18, 29, opp. 38, 165. 

Rea, Sarah, opp. 38. 

Regan, Dennis, 161. 

Reynolds, Henry, 29. 

Rice, Charles B., i, 7, 8, n, 161, 

162. 
Richards, Daniel, 161, 164. 
Richmond, Sarah F., 116. 
Robbins, ?>(>. 
Robbins, Nathaniel, 88. 
Roberts, John, 21, 140, 153. 
Roberts, Charles P., 140. 
Robinson, John, 194. 
Roby, Mary, n8. 
Roots, Joseph, 29. 
Ross, Josiah, 154. 
Roundy, Cornelius, \IT. 
Rundlett, Charles H., 140. 
Russel, 79. 

Russel, Benjamin, 84, 94, 99. 
Rust, 87. 

Sanborn, John A., 68. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



271 



Sanger, G. J., 149, i6r, 214. 

Sawin, 86. 

Sawyer, Amos, 81, 82. 

Searle, Thurston, 222. 

Sewall, Jolin S., 152, 216. 

Sewall, Jotham B., 152. 

Sewall, Joseph, 68. 

Sewall, Samuel, 45. 

Shahan, T. H., 149. 

Sharp, Samuel, 204. 

Sheldon, Bethiah, 123. 

Sheldon, John, 94. 

Sheldon, Jonathan, ^gg. 

Sheldon, Mary, 118. 

Shepard, John, 29. 

Shurtleff, Nathaniel, 232. 

Sibley, Samuel, 29. 

Sibley, William, 29. 

Silvester, Nathaniel, 145. 

Skelton, Samuel, 204. 

Small, George, 99. 

Small, Samuel, 99. 

Small, William, 135. 

Smith, 86. 

Smith, D. D., 149. 

Smith, Dolly, 118. 

Smith, Elias, 220, 221. 

Smith, George, 117. 

Smith, John, 94. 

Smith, James, 29, 158, 168. 

Smith, Nancy, 118. 

Smith, Nathan, 100. 

Smith, Susan, 1 16. 

Spaulding, S. W., 104. 

Spofford, Eleazar, 211. 

Spofford, Jeremiah, 210-213. 

Spofford, Mary Flint, 211. 

Spring, Jacob E., 107, 167. 

Stewart, A. P. S., 116. 

Stileman, Elias, 203. 

Stiles, David, 72, 73, 217-223. 

Stiles, David, 222. 

Story, D., 123. 

Strong, Caleb, 103. 

Swan, S. B'., 7, 8, 9, 109, 126, 127, 

140, 166, 169. 
Swincrton, Amos, 158. 
Swinerton, Eben, 117. 
Swinerton, James, 117. 
Swinerton, Jasper, 158. 
Swinerton, Job, 29, 32. 
Swinerton, Job, 29. 
Swinerton, John, 166. 
Swinerton, John, 8, 140, 169. 
Swinerton, Joseph, 158. 
Swinerton, Joshua, 135. 



Swinerton, Narah, 118. 
Symonds, Joseph, 222. 
Symonds, Samuel, 222. 
Symonds, Samuel, 220, 222. 

Talcott D. Smith, 152. 

Tapley, Aaron, 135. 

Tapley, A. 94, 95, 98, 99, 100, 135. 

Tapley, Asa, 90, 94, 98, 99, 135, 166. 

Tapley, Charles, 8, 135 

Tapley, Daniel, 135. 

Tapley, David, 117. 

Tapley, Ede (Edith) Swinerton, 140, 

195, 246. 
Tapley, George, 7, 8, 9, 94, 121, 

135, 140," 161, 169. 
Tapley, Gilbert, 93, 95. 
Tapley, Gilbert, 7, 8, 135, 136, 137, 

140, 143, 156, 164, 246. 
Tapley, Gilbert A., 9, 135. 
Tapley, H. Elizabeth, 165. 
Tapley, Herbert S., 135. 
Tapley, Jesse, 135, 140. 
Tapley, Nathan, 139, 166, 169. 
i Tapley, Nathan, Mrs. 191. 
Tapley, Rufus, 130, 135, 168, 169. 
Tapley, Rufus P., 223-225. 
Tarbell, Cornelius, 74, 164, 166. 
Tarbell, John, 29, 42, 51, 165, 219. 
Tenney, E. P., 216. 
Thayer, Mary J., 116. 
Thayer, Lorenzo, 146. 
Thomas, John, 140, 165. 
Thorndike, John, 203. 
Tituba, 46. 

Tolman, Richard, 146. 
Towne, Hannah, 163. 
Towne, Joseph, 106, 163. 
Towne, Samuel, 99. 
Towne, Thomas, 94. 
Towne, William, 94, 100. 
Trumbull, Hammond, 233, 
Tucker, R. H., 140. 
Tucker, S. A., 8. 
Turner, Benjamin, 145. 
Tyler, Addison, 219. 

Upham, Charles W., 3, 4, 5, 13, 22, 
23,26,31,35,41,46,49, 64, 72, 
163, 208, 214, 215, 233, 

Upham, Ezra, 93. 

Upham, Jesse, 94. 

Upham, William P., 4, 107, 109, 
157, 158, 201-205. 

Upton, Alexander, 140. 

Upton, Eunice, 98. 



272 



INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 



Upton, Ezra, 93. 
Upton, Geoi-ge, 168. 
Upton, Jesse, 94, 95, 99, 168. 
Upton, Sarah, 100. 

Verry, Henry, 107. 
Verry, John, 85. 
Verry, Joseph, 95. 

Wadsworth, Benjamin, 72, 84, 86- 
88, 91-93, 97, 98, 100-103, iio- 
114,118,119-125,128,133, 137, 
153, 162, 164, 170-172, 181, 
182, 211, 213, 226, 236. 

Wadsworth, Mary Hobson, 88, 120. 

Walcott, Abraham, 29. 

Walcott, Dehverance, opp. 38. 

Walcott, John, 94, 167. 

Walcott, Jonathan, 26, 28. 

Walcott, Jonathan, 100, 165. 

Walcott, William, 117. 

Waldron, E. T., 154. 

Walker, 127. 

Wallis, Polly, 158, 163. 

Wallis, Samuel, 109, 140, 163. 

Walton, 67. 

Warren, H. O., 161. 

Warren, Jonas, 213. 

Washington, George, 172. 

Waterman, Richard, 203. 

Waters, Richard P., 16. 

Watts, Isaac, 89. 

Watts, Jeremiah, 29. 

Way, Aaron, 29, 234. 

Way, Mary, 234. 

Way, Persis, opp. 38, 234. 

Way, William, 29, opp. 38, 234. 

Webster, Daniel, 197. 

Weston, Richard, 203. 

Weston, William L., 161. 

Wheatland, Henry, 4. 

Wheelock, 148. 

White, John, 99. 

White, Samuel, 94. 

Whipple, Joseph, 163, 167. 

Whittemore, 87. 

Whittredge, Richard, 85, 89. 



Whittredge, William, 94, 
Whiting, Lewis, 161. 
Wilkins, Anna, opp. 38. 
Wilkins, Benjamin, 29, opp. 38, 39, 

SI, 73, 219. 
Wilkins, Bray, 16, 25, 29, opp. 38, 

39, 63, 157, 217, 218, 219. 
Wilkins, Catharine, 140. 
Wilkins, Daniel, 219. 
Wilkins, David, 117. 
Wilkins, David S., 222. 
Wilkins, Edward W., 222. 
Wilkins, F. A., 140. 
Wilkins, Hannah, opp. 38. 
Wilkins, Hen., 25, 29, opp. 38, 39, 73. 
Wilkins, Isaac, 73. 
Wilkins, John, 218. 
Wilkins, Luther, 157. 
Wilkins, Mary, 73. 
Wilkins, Mary, 118, 73. 
Wilkins, Margery, 73. 
Wilkins, Penelope, 73. 
Wilkins, Reuben, 7, 8, 165. 
Wilkins, Sainuel, 29. 
Wilkins, Samuel H., 219. 
Wilkins, Solomon, 95. 
Wilkins, Thomas, 25, 29. 
Wilkins, Zadock, 94, 99, 100. 
Willard, John, 219. 
Williams, 88. 

Williams, Elizabeth, 134, 135. 
Williams, J. J., 150. 
Williams, John S., 136. 
Willis, S. B., 155, 169. 
Wilson, Artemas, 112. 
Winthrop, Waite, 45. 
Withington, Leonard, 215, 216. 
Wood, George H., 8, 23, 152. 
Woodbery, Peter, 29. 
Woodman, W. B., 7, 8, 140, 166, 169. 
Woodrow, Joseph, 29. 
Woods, Leonard, 120, 124, 125. 
Worcester, Samuel, 126. 
Wyatt, Edward, 107, 140. 
Wyatt, George, 94. 
Wyatt, Lucinda, 118. 
Wyatt, Salina, 118.* 



* If the name of any person living, or that has ever lived, in this parish that 
should have been mentioned in this book, has been omitted, there need not be 
the least unpleasant feeling on that account ; since, if the individual interested 
will furnish a statement of the facts, I may readily cause it to be laid up until 
the time of the next corresponding publication, when the matter can easily be 
set right. 






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